‘We may never see him again’: Campbell believes Arteta may now ditch ‘fantastic’ Arsenal star
Arsenal icon Kevin Campbell has urged Mikel Arteta to believe in Nuno Tavares despite his poor performance on Monday night.
The Gunners cult hero was speaking on Highbury Squad about the team’s shocking 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace.
Arsenal had been in excellent form prior to their visit to Selhurst Park, with six wins in their previous seven league games.
The Gunners did lose to Liverpool on March 16, but given how strong the Reds are, that defeat wasn’t as painful.
Mikel Arteta, on the other hand, felt compelled to apologize to Arsenal fans for the “unacceptable” loss to the Eagles.
“We were poor, especially in the first half,” Sky Sports quoted him as saying.
“I apologise to our supporters… this was not good enough.”
Tavares started at left-back for Arsenal due to Kierney’s knee injury, which will necessitate surgery.
However, Mikel Arteta eventually took him off at halftime, with Granit Xhaka filling in at left-back.
It was the £7million man’s first start since January, when Arteta hauled him off after 35 minutes against Nottingham Forest.
With Tierney expected to miss the rest of the season, Arsenal manager is in a real pickle.
Is he going to keep Tavares at left-back, use Xhaka, or even go with Lino Sousa or Mazeed Ogungbo?
Arteta, according to Campbell, should stick with the former Benfica man.
“His confidence is low, that’s for sure,” he told Highbury Squad host Sophie Nicolaou.
“As you said, you fear for him because we may never see him again. You were concerned about where he was mentally.
“Sometimes, when you keep falling off the horse, you have to keep getting back on it. He’s got to gain some confidence from somewhere.
“Let’s be honest, playing well, he’s the best man for that job.
“We have to get him playing. Why not give him another go? I would rather try to build him. Build his confidence up.
“He hasn’t been around the first team for a long time, so he needs to be built up. He’s not going to hit the ground running where he was.”
Fellow Arsenal legend Ian Wright has also defended Tavares, calling him a “fantastic” player who can recover.
“There’s things he’s working on but you look at someone like Tavares and you think to yourself, I just hope he’s getting that coaching that he needs at the minute,” he told Wrighty’s House.
“We know that he’s fantastic, he’s a fantastic player.
“He can be attacking and we couldn’t get out [against Palace]. We have to take it on the chin.”
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‘We may never see him again’: Campbell believes Arteta may now ditch ‘fantastic’ Arsenal star
