"He doesn't have faith" - Gary Neville says Mikel Arteta does not trust forgotten Arsenal signing 

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta doesn't trust midfielder Fabio Vieira.

The Gunners played out a goalless draw against Newcastle United at home in the Premier League on Tuesday, December 3. The hosts dominated the game with 67% possession and 17 attempts on goal but were unable to break down the Magpies' resolute defense.

While Arsenal struggled to create clear goalscoring chances, Arteta made just one substitution in the game. He brought on right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu for Ben White as midfielder Vieira remained on the bench.

Neville believes that the Spanish manager doesn't trust the Portuguese midfielder to improve the team. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said:

"Arteta, he looks at £34 million Vieira on his bench and doesn’t bring him on, so he doesn’t have faith that he’s going to improve the team that was out there. Fabio Vieira cost £34million. Mikel obviously thought he would’ve weakened the side by bringing him on."

Speaking about Arsenal's playing style, Neville highlighted how they build their attacks from midfield rather than putting crosses in the box. He said:

"They do rely on the perfect pass and the thread, they haven’t got full-backs that deliver really good crosses, they haven’t got a midfield player that switches play or plays De Bruyne-style crosses."

He added:

"They’re always relying on the short bits of play around the box, which Newcastle to be fair defended so well and so resiliently and so compactly, made it so difficult for them, and they didn’t have another plan off the bench."

Arsenal signed Vieira from FC Porto last summer for £34 million. He has made 16 appearances for the club, contributing two goals and two assists.

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Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal's performance following their draw against Newcastle United

While it ended in a goalless draw, the Gunners were the much better side in attack. However, Newcastle defended really well and attempted to hit the hosts on the counter.

Regardless, Arsenal put in a good performance and manager Arteta echoed the sentiment, as he told the club's website:

“I’m so proud of the boys, the way we played, the way we dominated the game, the approach we had from the beginning and where we took he game. We didn’t concede anything I think."

He added:

“We generated so many situations that we should have finished a bit better. We lacked the spark, that final thrust, that final delivery in the box to finish the action and then obviously there were two scandalous penalties.”

Arsenal are now eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table before Manchester City face Chelsea away on Thursday (December 5).

The Gunners will next face Oxford United away in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday, January 9.