Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shared a warm embrace with Nuno Tavares during his team's victory against Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners won 3-1 at the Emirates, with Tavares scoring the opener. Arteta was keen to give the 22-year-old left-back some advice after one of the goals, stopping him as he returned to his position before pounding his heart in an emotional speech.
Tavares has experienced a tricky first season at Arsenal following his £8million move from Benfica last July. Arteta ruthlessly substituted him after just 34 minutes of their FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest, despite not having an injury.
"I don't want to talk about any individuals," said Arteta when asked about that decision. Club legend Ian Wright, however, admitted Tavares had started the game "poorly" - while former Manchester United captain Roy Keane called his performance "sloppy".
Tavares' Arsenal future looked in doubt after that game, yet he's fought his way back into Arteta's team following an injury to Kieran Tierney. The youngster has started Arsenal's last three Premier League games, helping them beat Chelsea and United.
"We have to help him," said Arteta amid criticism about Tavares' performance against United. "He needs to go through these experiences to understand, OK what trigged that moment, when you go from here to there – and give him support.
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"We know, I’ve said this many times, the bill that you have to pay with these players is that they have never experienced this. So they are going to make mistakes, and they are going to make decisions that – from here it’s very easy to say, 'Why have you done that?' But they are there on the pitch, and let’s give them support because they need it."
Arteta needs Tavares to be at his best due to Tierney's knee complaint, which will keep him out of action until the end of the season. The Gunners are currently fourth, two points ahead of Tottenham in fifth with just five fixtures remaining.
Arsenal have a challenging run in. They face a trip to Europa League semi-finalists West Ham on Sunday afternoon before games against Leeds, Spurs, Newcastle and Everton. Leeds and Everton are both fighting relegation, while Newcastle are in great form.
The biggest game is undoubtedly the trip to Tottenham on May 12. Champions League qualification would be a huge achievement, considering how they started the season.
Few backed the Gunners to qualify for Europe's most prestigious competition after they lost their opening three Premier League games. Spurs, meanwhile, were languishing in eighth after sacking Nuno Espirito Santo in November.
"This changes so quickly," said Arteta when asked about the run in. "But my belief is that we’re going to give it a real go, we can win football matches, but the margins are very small and we have to be very aware of that. Winning and losing in this league and where we are today, is defined by the small margin."
