Fabio Vieira has been spotted taking part in Arsenal training during the club's week-long camp in Dubai. Taking advantage of the Premier League’s winter break, Mikel Arteta's side have travelled to Dubai until January 16, allowing them time to intensify their training sessions in the warmer climate.
After Vieira suffered his injury setback, Arteta said: "Yeah we’ve got a problem with him. He’s been having some discomfort.
"We sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin. He did that yesterday. We don’t expect him back this side of the winter break."
The Arsenal boss' prediction of having Vieira back following the winter break looks set to come true after the Portuguese playmaker was pictured getting involved in full team training. The 23-year-old has missed the last 10 fixtures across all competitions but could be set to feature in the matchday squad when the Gunners face Crystal Palace later this month.
Vieira's return will be a huge boost for Arsenal as they look to solve their goalscoring issues. The Portuguese midfielder will offer a fresh option in the starting XI or off the bench for Arteta with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz struggling to finish their chances at present.
There is a clear demand from supporters for a new striker to join the club, but Arteta admitted that is 'unrealistic' as things stand. Asked whether a new striker could be signed in January, Arteta told BeINSports: "At the moment it does not look realistic.
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"What my job is, and what we have to do is improve our players and try to get better results with the players we have. One thing is what we need and another is what we can do.
"What we need to do now is stick behind those players, give them some love, train them and make sure they visualise something very different to what is actually happening now. They’ve done it. We’re not going to reinvent the wheel, because they’ve done it."