Arsenal have responded to their poor return from the international break with two huge wins on the bounce. A victory against Chelsea in midweek was followed up by a 3-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday.
Goals from Nuno Tavares, Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo’s finish to hand Mikel Arteta an important three points in the race for a top four finish this season. It lifts them to fourth in the league, temporarily over Tottenham who play later.
One player who had a mixed game is Tavares, who filled in at left-back in the absence of the injured Kieran Tierney. The Portuguese full-back started the game well, firing in the first goal from a rebounded David de Gea save in the opening minutes.
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The 22-year-old continued to be a threat going forward, taking on shots from inside the box with real confidence. Where he struggled was at the other end.
There were occasions where the full-back was caught in the defensive third, with Anthony Elanga beating him in one instance before things got physical and there was a penalty appeal. While that one was waved away, he did concede a penalty later on for a handball in the box.
Luckily for him and for Arsenal, Bruno Fernandes missed the resulting penalty. Arteta said in his post-match interview that they must continue to support Tavares in his development: “We have to help him. He needs to go through these experiences to understand what triggers these moments. The bill you have to pay with these players is they’ve never experienced this.”
After his mixed outing, Tavares took to Twitter with a two-word message, saying: “Cannon loaded.” While he struggled at points, there are plenty of positives to take away from his performance.
It remains to be seen if he can compete with Tierney for the first-team shirt next season, but he has the rest of the season to stake a claim.
