Paul Scholes has claimed that Nuno Tavares is ‘very, very suspect’ when defending for Arsenal.
The Old Trafford legend added by saying that the Arsenal left-back is ‘okay going forward’, but not so much when having to defend his own box.
That has probably been proven during these last few games when the 22-year-old hasn’t been punished for his defensive errors – well, at least Arsenal haven’t in terms of the result of the game.
Against Chelsea, he allowed defender Cesar Azpilicueta to run across him to score like he was Ruud van Nistelrooy in his prime, whilst it was his handball that led to Manchester United being awarded a penalty over the weekend.
Either way, there is a reason why, at one point, with Kieran Tierney out of action, Mikel Arteta put Granit Xhaka at left-back, as Scholes shared his thoughts on the player on Premier League Productions (23/04/22 at 12:20 pm).
“Tavares is a quick player,” said Scholes. “Okay going forward, but defensively he’s very, very suspect.
“It’s very similar to Manchester United. Both fullbacks aren’t great defensively.”
At the start of the season, Tavares looked like a diamond of a player and someone who was thriving when Tierney suffered his first injury of the season.
When the Scotsman returned, there were some who were questioning if he should return to the XI.
Given his young age and the fact that Tavares is in his first season in the Premier League, he will be given the benefit of the doubt.
The talent is there, but as he has proven during the first and second half of the campaign, there are two sides to his game and he has a lot to learn from.
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