"He works a lot every day and always wants to improve" - Jorginho praises 'sensational' Arsenal star after loss to Porto

Arsenal midfielder Jorginho heaped praise on teammate Fabio Vieira following the Portuguese playmaker's return to the first team after a spell on the sidelines. Vieira remained an unused substitute by Mikel Arteta as the Gunners lost 1-0 to FC Porto in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash.

Vieira has been on the sidelines since late November with a groin injury which required surgery. The 23-year-old was available for selection on Wednesday, February 21 against his former club Porto but Arteta did not turn to the versatile midfielder.

Following the game, Arsenal midfielder Jorginho lavished praise on Vieira highlighting his top-class attitude.

Jorginho said, as quoted by TBR Football:

“Fabio is a sensational, hardworking boy, a boy that everyone likes, and we only wish the best for him, because he works a lot every day and always wants to improve."

Jorginho added:

“He’s a player who listens and when the team needs it, gives his opinion. And when the injury happened, everyone was very sad for him, but now he’s back and we hope he can help the team.”

Fabio Vieira joined Arsenal from Porto for a reported fee of £34m including add-ons in 2022. The versatile midfielder has only been a squad player for the Gunners since he arrived at the Emirates.

The former Portugal under-21 international has so far made 46 appearances for the north London giants, scoring thrice while producing ten assists. He scored 10 goals and provided 18 assists in 76 games for Porto before making his switch to the Premier League.

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Theo Walcott urges Arsenal to sign Premier League striker

Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has claimed that Arsenal are in dire need of adding a new striker to their ranks in the summer. The former England international insisted that he is a huge fan of Brentford striker Ivan Toney who has been heavily linked with a switch to the Emirates.

Speaking after the game at Porto, Walcott insisted that Arsenal desperately need Toney to solve their goalscoring woes. Walcott said on BBC (via Metro):

"I am a big fan of a certain Brentford striker who I won’t name. It’s really quite obvious to see there with all the set pieces, Arsenal are a really big team, but if you’ve got someone like that in your team as well. Missing [Gabriel] Jesus tonight as well who is a different sort of No.9, again, there’s no one else to call upon. Kai Havertz is not a striker, I think he’s done really well but I don’t think he’s a standard No.9."

He added:

"That is something I feel that Edu and Mikel will be discussing in the summer, I’m pretty sure about that. I know we’re talking about someone who is not at the club but you play different with certain players up front, I remember playing with [Olivier] Giroud up front I played differently."

"Having a big man up front, the wingers would bounce it off him, [Bukayo] Saka and [Gabriel] Martinelli would have an absolute field day."

Toney made his much-awaited return from an eight-month ban (imposed by FA) for breaching gambling rules. The England international has been excellent since his return having scored four goals in six games.