'Absolute velvet left foot' - Joe Cole wowed by Fabio Vieira after Arsenal beat Bodo/Glimt in Europa League
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Published 06/10/2022 at 22:11 GMT
Arsenal looked in good form as they beat Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League to make it two wins from two matches in Group B. Fabio Vieira was one of the standout players as he provided an assist for Rob Holding and also netted the third goal. Joe Cole and Martin Keown were both impressed with Vieira and also highlighted Gabriel Jesus as a "role model" for the team.
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Joe Cole praised Fabio Vieira’s “absolute velvet left foot” after he impressed in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League.
Summer signing Vieira was one of the standout players for the Gunners, crossing for Rob Holding to score the second goal and then netting the third late in the game.
Vieira has only started once in the Premier League this season, but could soon be pushing for a regular spot in the XI.
“He is brimming with confidence,” said former Chelsea winger Cole on BT Sport.
“He has finished beautifully into the roof. He is one of those technicians that everything he does he does it with purpose.
“He has an absolute velvet left foot. He can do anything. He has competition with [Martin] Odegaard, one of the club captains, but he is a fantastic player.”
Vieira’s goal was set up by a brilliant run from Gabriel Jesus, who was introduced as a substitute in the second half.
Jesus looked lively during his time on the pitch and skilfully weaved past a couple of players to tee up Vieira.
“It’s creating a culture,” added Cole.
“Arsenal are trying to do something extraordinary this season, they’re trying to go up against Manchester City, they’re trying to win the Europa League, the bar has been set very high.
“You have Gabriel Jesus playing to the top of his game, coming off the bench, showing the demands, chasing everything down.”
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown was also impressed with Jesus’ impact.
“Jesus came off the bench and everyone was looking at what his performance is going to be. He just can’t stop playing well.
“Him coming off the bench demonstrates to the group, [it says] ‘look at the quality, I’m the top man, I’m going to show everybody else how we behave’.
“That helps to police it for the manager because he is the one they point to, he is the role model within the group.”
Arsenal are now top of Europa League Group B on six points from two games, two points ahead of Bodo/Glimt and PSV Eindhoven.
They face Liverpool in a crunch clash on Sunday as they look to stay top of the Premier League.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he was pleased with the result against Bodo/Glimt but felt the performance could have been better.
“'I’m really happy with the win, six points and a clean sheet. But we lacked connection between the players, we lacked consistency and domination through the game.
"There were eight changes, you could feel that, the timing was missing. In the final third we looked very dangerous, the goals we scored were good goals."
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