Kevin Campbell has defended Nuno Tavares after he struggled in Arsenal’s Premier League match against Liverpool at the weekend.
The left-back deputised for Kieran Tierney in the very tough fixture at Anfield, and he was up against an in-form Mohamed Salah.
He made a mistake that handed Diogo Jota a golden opportunity to extend Liverpool’s lead, and the striker took it.
The left-back had been doing just fine before that error and he struggled in the second half of the match.
Campbell admits Tavares made some costly mistakes, but he insists the Portuguese star did well and the loss shouldn’t be his responsibility alone.
“Tavares is going to be gutted,” he told Football Insider.
“Look, he did not have a great second half. He made a couple of big errors but by and large he did OK. They were elementary mistakes but these things happen.
“He is playing against [Mohamed] Salah – arguably the hottest player in the world right now. For the [Diogo] Jota goal, he robbed Salah of the ball and then got the simple part wrong – passing to a yellow shirt. Sometimes you cannot legislate for that.
“That goal made it a mountain to climb. Arsenal just could not hold out.
“It was painful for Tavares but it should be for everyone. It was a 4-0 defeat.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Tavares has deputised well for Tierney so far, but the game against Liverpool was probably too fast-paced for him.
At 21, he still has a lot of development to do, but the early signs show he is a top player in the making.
The mistake he made against Liverpool will not be used to judge his time at the Emirates.
He will get another chance against a top English club. Hopefully, he will learn from his performance at Anfield.