Speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast, Nigel Winterburn has been discussing Nuno Tavares after his shocking performance against Crystal Palace this week.
The Portuguese full-back was utterly hopeless against the Eagles on Monday evening as Arsenal lost 3-0. The defender was subbed off at half-time after a lacklustre showing, and Winterburn says that he would be better off playing as a wing-back rather than as a full-back.
What’s been said?
Winterburn spoke about Tavares’ poor defensive awareness and gave his view on the Portuguese ace playing as a wing-back.
“It could be a combination of all of those things, some players need to play regularly, it could be confidence. But for me, the big thing for Tavares is understanding his defensive responsibilities. I know the full-back role has changed, but Jamie Carragher said on Sky that when you’re alongside your centre-half you have to expect your defender to mess up. You have to be in that position. I don’t think he understands the real defensive side of the game, and if you don’t understand that, you can be exposed. If he played in a wing-back role, that would be perfect for him,” Winterburn said.
Worth a try
Tavares’ poor showing at full-back makes it seem as though this is worth a try.
Arsenal certainly have the personnel at their disposal to switch to a back five with Rob Holding able to come in as an extra centre-back, while the injury to Thomas Partey could make this reshuffle a lot less painful.
Of course, you may be sacrificing some creativity by playing Martin Odegaard slightly deeper, but at the end of the day, clean sheets are probably the most important thing for Arsenal at this point of the season as they look to accrue as many points as possible.
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