Arsenal

Arsenal: Charles Watts questions Mikel Arteta treatment of Nuno Tavares

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Image for Arsenal: Charles Watts questions Mikel Arteta treatment of Nuno Tavares

Football writer Charles Watts has questioned Mikel Arteta’s decision not to play Nuno Tavares at left-back in Arsenal’s last game.

After a season-ending injury to Kieran Tierney, the Gunners will have to recalibrate their defence in the coming weeks. Against Brighton & Hove Albion, despite having the more natural left-back available to him, the club’s Spanish manager opted to play Granit Xhaka on the left side of his defence.

Indeed, Tavares spent the game on the bench and things did not go well at all as the Seagulls claimed a 2-1 away win, which significantly damaged Arsenal’s hopes of making the top four.

Could Nuno Tavares become Arsenal's starting left-back?

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Having been subbed off before the second half in each of his last two outings and not coming on in this latest fixture, it seems as though Tavares has lost Arteta’s faith.

Speaking about the matter on his YouTube channel, Watts said it was ‘harsh’ and spoke about how the manager does have a tendency to shun certain players. 

He said: “It was just an odd decision, and you have to sit here now and think, you know, where does Tavares go from here? 

“We’ve seen when Arteta kind of seems to go cold on players, that it’s very tough for them to get back into the fold.

“And you’re looking at it and thinking, just after a couple of bad games, it just feels a little bit harsh, the way Tavares has been treated.”

TIF Thoughts on Nuno Tavares and Arsenal…

It’s probably fair to say Arteta can ‘go cold on players’. After all, he was perfectly happy for former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave for Barcelona in January after the pair fell out

And judging from his recent treatment of Tavares, he certainly doesn’t seem to be super keen on playing him at the moment. This may be a bit of a surprise to some, as the 22-year-old seemed like an able deputy to Tierney at one point in the season and even started six Premier League games in a row at one point.

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After this latest loss, perhaps Arteta will have no choice but to give the youngster a runout in the club’s next game. If that is the case, it will be up to Tavares to prove his worth and make that spot his own for the rest of the season.

Still, judging from Watts’ comments, it seems possible that the left-back isn’t even afforded that opportunity.

In other news: ‘Staggering’, ‘Shouldn’t be in the team’ – Watts stunned by what he’s seen regarding Arsenal ace

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