Darren Bent has slammed Nuno Tavares after his horror show in the first half of Arsenal’s match against Crystal Palace.
The Portugal Under-21 left-back only started the game because Kieran Tierney is injured and could not play.
It was a rare chance for him to stake a claim for himself on the team and he flopped big time.
He was unsettled for most of the first half and he never looked confident at any point in that half.
That helped the Eagles to cause problems for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta removed him from the game at half-time.
When he left, the damage had already been done and Palace earned a surprise win.
Pundits slammed the left-back for his performance and one of them was Bent, who said via Express Sports: “I’ve seen Tavares play twice, I saw him get ruined at Nottingham Forest and then again last night.
“And in the commentary Jamie Carragher called it, he said he has to come off at half-time and he did.
“He got absolutely ruined, he was out of position and not good enough on the ball.
“I know his reputation and people say ‘he’s going to be a good player’ but the drop-off when Kieran Tierney is not playing.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Tavares was shocking yesterday and his performance is not one that will earn him more minutes at the club.
Since he moved to the Emirates, he has shown too much weakness and remains one of the poor acquisitions we have made recently.
But he is still young and he might get better with time.