Arsenal: Impossibility of ‘next Vieira’ doesn’t look so impossible now

Arsenal fans have been begging for the next Patrick Vieira for two decades, but what was once impossible might not be so much anymore.

Arsenal‘s midfield this year is a massive point of pride. The Lucas Torreira/Granit Xhaka duo works like a charm more times than not, and they will only continue to develop, to get better, and to make the foundation of this team something to be proud of.

But it hasn’t always been that way. Arsene Wenger constantly faced criticism for his midfield signings, who were often small, technical players and nothing at all like Patrick Vieira, who fans were desperate to see the next of.

We still haven’t seen the next Patrick Vieira. And Wenger has made a fantastic point about his inability to replace Vieira.

Here are his words:

"“Unfortunately, to find a [Patrick] Vieira who can play football like a small player… since I’ve been in England everybody has said ‘I’ve found the new Vieira’ but 20 years have passed and nobody’s found him.”More from Pain in the Arsenal3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victoryArsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison ParkMikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win"

His point is simply that there is no next Patrick Vieira. Someone as big and strong as he was, playing like a smaller player, with the gift of being a technical wizard and and all-around stalwart that has no natural weaknesses.

I have been outspoken about my take on appointing anyone ‘the next Vieira,’ and my point is the same as Wenger’s. There won’t be one. There will be cheap imitations and knock-offs and maybe, just maybe, we can find a modern Vieira.

And by that, I mean Lucas Torreira who, yes, I was very opposed to dubbing ‘the next Vieira.’ But I want to take a stab at explaining why this is different.

Torreira isn’t like Vieira. He’s too short, as Torreira himself pointed out. But in the style of the modern game, the majority of successful defensive midfielders are smaller players like Torreira, like Kante. So while it may be “impossible” to get the next Vieira, it isn’t impossible to finally replace him with a similar player, who, at just 22, still has a world of growth ahead of him that’s going to make him, ideally, do a lot of the same things Vieira did.

Really, he just needs to work on his attacking play a bit more, and then it’s all there.

And if that doesn’t work, Matteo Guendouzi is just three inches shorter than Vieira, so maybe that’s our guy to call “the next Vieira.”