Former Arsenal star, Ray Parlour, has pinpointed Nuno Tavares as weak link in the current Arsenal team.
The defender joined the club in the summer as a backup to Kieran Tierney, but he hasn’t looked ideal in this campaign.
He has delivered arguably the shakiest performances among Arsenal’s defenders all season.
With Tierney constantly getting injured, the club has been forced to rely on him in several matches, but he hardly covers himself in glory.
Parlour believes the left-back will give Tottenham an outlet to launch an attack at Arsenal when both clubs meet.
He tells TalkSport: “I worry about the full-back areas.
“Tierney is brilliant if he stays fit. He’s been injured quite often in an Arsenal shirt.
Defensively, he’s (Tavares) not the best if I’m being honest. He’s got to improve on that.
“He’s better in a three at the back, when he plays wing-back. But he’s vulnerable at left-back.
“And I’m sure Spurs will be saying; ‘Well OK, let’s play down the left-hand side and Tavares.’
“They might get a bit of joy down that side when they play them next Thursday.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
At 22, Tavares can still become a much better player, and Arsenal signed him because of his potential.
However, we need players that will deliver top performances immediately. With that in mind, he risks losing his place in the team soon if he doesn’t start doing better.
He needs to prove his worth in the remaining matches of the season to avoid making the club sign another left-back.
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Liverpool really surprised me, I was hoping for a win. they just made our work a little harder.
Tottenham really stepped up, I couldn’t believe it’s them.
We gotta bring our A game when we Play them or else………
Win tomorrow and thanks to the spuds not winning, we have a free hit at their shed.
Tonights result means nothing. We still have a cup final tomorrow which we just absolutely need to win and must NOT lose on Thursday.
We also have to play Newcastle away 😱
I agree 100% with Ray that Kane and song will use Tavares as a Pass to break through Arsenal’s defence and render us helpless
The the Coach must sort out that loophole for us otherwise we shall mourn after the North London Derby with Tottenham
Tavares isn’t just a liability in defense, his forward runs tend to miss out key players like ESR and Nellie, and cause our momentum to stall.
If he does pass to them, it is usually late in his run, and they are often marked.
If he could learn to PASS the ball earlier it might make him better player.
It will be interesting to see what line-up Arteta puts out on Thursday!!
A draw is very acceptable.
Spurs like to counter attack, so playing something like a 5, 3, 2 formation might be interesting.
Using Elneny, Xhaka and Lokonga in midfield.
It would mean playing just Eddie and Saka, or Nellie and Saka as lone strikers.
Just a thought
Its all in our hands👐
Wow, that Ray is a sharp one!
Spuds’ tactics and determination were impressive although I thought Pool were disappointing.
The fact remains that the result at the Lane is irrelevant if we can win just THREE games by hook or by crook.
Spurs are inconsistent and they will be under a lot more pressure than us to get a win, while even a draw will suit us and allow us to lose or draw one of the other three. As long as we win vs Leeds I don’t think we will lose at WHL (famous last words…)!
Our focus should be on winning All if we can do that.
Tavares will be fine. Give the lad a break, he will positively surprise you on the day.
Let’s win today 1st. If we do 4points clear heading into Thursday, a draw with 2 games left would be enough momentum to grab a win either playing at Newcastle or Everton, the latter will be fighting for their lives so won’t be an easy last day fixture.
Today’s game is even bigger after Spurs performance last night. If we don’t keep up we will lose 4th spot to them. Let’s hope we take this opportunity today for some beating space heading into the toilet bowl on Thursday
Let’s take it one step at a time. Beating Leeds today will be crucial to our confidence when we play Spurs. Also, we have to be able to lose to Spurs and still be in 4th. But we have the most difficult run-in of the teams battling for 3rd and 4th.
Tavares is young and a forced run of games could see him progress with leaps and bounces. By the time we play Spurs he will have another game under his belt if (and you never know with Arteta) he starts today.