If your idea of "it works" just consist of striking an arc and making a weld with porosity, then one does not need gas at all. You can strike an arc, form a puddle, and run beads full of porosity with no gas at all.
So, no it does not work.
Argon, Helium, hydrogen, and any mix of these work, CO2, O2, and any mix containing them does not work.