Manchester United icon Paul Scholes questions Arsenal defender’s qualities
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has questioned the defensive ability of Arsenal full-back Nuno Tavares.
The 22-year-old scored the opener in the Gunners’ 3-1 victory over United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday inside the first three minutes.
While the Premier League Hall of Famer conceded that Tavares was “okay going forward,” Scholes claimed the Portuguese youngster isn’t great defensively.
Former Red Devils midfielder Scholes spoke to the Premier League about the Arsenal left-back.
As per HITC Sport, he said:
“Tavares is a quick player. Okay going forward, but defensively he’s very, very suspect.”
The former England international added:
“It’s very similar to Manchester United. Both fullbacks aren’t great defensively.”
Tavares joined Mikel Arteta’s side in the summer from Benfica and initially impressed upon his arrival.
However, following the terrific form of first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney, Tavares found opportunities hard to come by. He played just eight minutes in the Premier League from early December until April, according to Transfermarkt.
The Portugal U21 international was given more minutes after Tierney suffered a season-ending injury in March. However, he was taken off at half-time in his first start in four months in the Gunners’ 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, having been deemed responsible for two of the goals.
Arteta urges Arsenal fans to support Tavares following improved performance against Manchester United
Tavares has made 24 appearances so far in his debut season at the Emirates Stadium. However, fans were audibly critical of the left-back following a series of wayward passes against the Red Devils.
Arteta believes that his young defender is learning his trade and needs time to improve. The manager pleaded with the fans in North London to give him their full support.
The Spanish boss said via The Metro:
“We have to help him. 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.”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.’
