Arsenal £35m transfer gamble finally pays off as Mikel Arteta lands huge triple boost before PSG
Results continue to keep things on track for Arsenal at a time whereby there is a lot of noise still around the club. Be it injuries, suspensions, refereeing controversy, or late goals, the pressure and expectation on Mikel Arteta's side is perhaps not that equal to a side without defeat this season.
These issues which have cropped up and become early obstacles for Arteta to deal with will only be enhanced in the coming weeks though as the full hustle and bustle of Tuesday or Wednesday football kicks in. The international break will actually provide a much needed break for those who have been out.
Once Arsenal return though, there is a sense that the campaign will really get going. Champions League fixtures get into full flow, domestic cup action takes on a new look, and the demands to remain in a competitive title race are present.
Here, football.london takes a look at the latest headlines around the club as things ramp up yet more.
Vieira returns
Arsenal loanee made a long-awaited second debut for Porto as he returned to the pitch for the first time this season over the weekend. Having rejoined his former team over the summer in a bid to get some minutes under his belt, it had been a continuation of the frustration felt in north London for Vieira.
With a muscle injury delaying his start, Vieira was a second-half substitute as Porto won 4-0 over Arouca to make it three league wins in a row. The 24-year-old still has some way to go before he can claim to be at the level Arsenal are hoping he reaches following their commitment to a possible £35million transfer fee, but this is a step in the right direction.
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Much like Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, Vieira has been overlooked and underused by Arteta in the past two years as Arsenal hold themselves to the highest of standards in a bid to match Manchester City. With Mikel Merino arriving and Vieira in desperate need of regular game time, the decision was taken to send him back to a familiar setting in order to regroup.
football.london says: There was a sense a few weeks ago that Arsenal letting both Smith Rowe and Vieira go in the summer with just one midfielder coming in was risky, and so it has proved. Arteta wasn't ready to trust Vieira with meaningful minutes though, so it's not a surprise that he was let go.
To get full value from this, Vieira will need to hit the heights in Portugal that led to Arsenal spending big on him in the first place. This will not only help to get him back into the thinking at the Emirates Stadium but also to raise the value should his future lay elsewhere instead.
Should Arteta have been left without his midfield options for much longer then the questions over Vieira would have gotten louder. The gamble to send him out anyway will surely begin to pay off if both parties have success away from each other.
PSG boost
PSG will be without Ousmane Dembele for Tuesday's Champions League match against Arsenal, with Arteta also hoping for some selection boosts on the way. With four goals and four assists in six Ligue 1 games this season, Dembele has been a big threat for Luis Enrique's side.
"If someone doesn't comply or respect the expectations of the team, it means they are not prepared to play," the former Barcelona boss said ahead of the game, explaining the decision to leave Dembele out of his squad. "The match [vs Arsenal] is very important and I want all my players to be ready so, as a consequence, I've left him [Dembele] out. I want the best for my team and that's my job.
"These circumstances are difficult and you have to take difficult decisions. I'm 100 per cent engaged [behind] in my decision and 100 per cent sure of the decision I have made." He continued: "It doesn't mean this is irreversible, but I made the best decision for the team and that's why I signed here, to create a team that has a strong identity and has a lot of character.
"I was also hired to win titles. I cannot guarantee that. But I can guarantee the rest, which is playing with a strong identity. The day I cannot do this I will go home. I have the support of the club's president and the sporting director. I'm here to create our team and, in the future, that might include Ousmane Dembele, just to be clear."
Enrique finished: "I'm very honest and I will be honest, but I'm not going to create a soap opera out of this. There are no problems between us. That's completely false. This is simply about the responsibilities of the player."
Meanwhile, Arsenal will be hopeful of welcoming back Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White to their own ranks. Calfiori was involved in training ahead of the game having gone down late on against Leicester with an injury fear, whereas White was not present after missing the weekend's clash.
"We have to review a few players," he said on Monday looking ahead to the game. "Those are the two players that are in contention and we have to review today."
football.london says: PSG have been in fine form and so has Dembele, but Enrique still has a lot of options to go with. Bradley Barcola is lighting things up and will more than makeup for what is missing here.
The interesting thing will be how PSG deal with an Arsenal side that can only be described as a cohesive unit. That isn't a description that has fitted the Parisiens much in recent years due to their Galacticos-inspired recruitment. Enrique has brought them closer to being a genuine team rather than group of individuals, and the choice to leave out Dembele reflects that.
As for Arsenal, they had adapted and fared well even with fitness worries of late. Arteta won't want to have to put up with it for much longer though because such a strain on his squad will only cause issues.
Even if it means being able to make substitutions towards the end of matches or offering out 45 minutes out of action at the start of certain games, having the flexibility in depth to rotate will benefit everyone. White and Calafiori being back therefore aren't just the difference for two players but four, with others needed to cover for them.