Michael Dawson has said on Sky Sports News (12:07pm, October 23, 2021) that Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares knows that he will drop out of the team when Kieran Tierney is back.
The former Tottenham Hotspur central defender believes that Arsenal left-back Tavares was “incredible” against Aston Villa on Friday night.
The 21-year-old Portuguese got the chance to start due to injury to Tierney.
It was Tavares’s first start in the Premier League this season following his move to Arsenal from Benfica in the summer transfer window.
Dawson said about Tavares: “He had to wait for that because of Tierney. That’s the reason.
“When you have got Tierney there, he is always going to play. He knows that he is going to play second fiddle. He was everywhere. He was incredible. He will be delighted.”
Former Aston Villa star Lee Hendrie said: “I felt Tavares on the left-hand side, he needs a big mention as well. I thought he was outstanding.”
Could Nuno Tavares be dropped?
Arsenal manager Arteta has said that he does not know what Tierney will be back.
We know that the former Celtic left-back has had injury problems during his time at Arsenal so far.
Tavarez is still very young and is progressing.
However, in our view, the 21-year-old is ready to genuinely challenge Tierney.
If the Scotland international is on the sidelines for a while now, then we think that Tavares can step in.
Against Villa at the Emirates Stadium, the youngster took three shots and one was on target, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 83.3%, won two headers, took 66 touches, made two tackles and three clearances, and put in four crosses.
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