Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed Nuno Travares offers more on the pitch to Arsenal than teammate and fellow left-back Kieran Tierney.
Arsenal struggled whenever Kieran Tierney was absent during the second half of last season. After the club decided to loan out Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac last January, forcing Granit Xhaka to deputise at left-back whenever the Scottish international was unavailable.
The club quickly rectified the problem by signing Nuno Tavares from Benfica, with Mikel Arteta opting to go with a young option rather than an experienced star. The Portuguese full-back was only meant to deputise for Tierney whenever the occasion presented itself, but things have been different so far.
Tavares capitalised on Tierney’s brief absence through a minor injury issue and took his chance with both hands. The left-back managed to keep the Scotland international out for a considerable period, playing six Premier League games in a row, including a start against Liverpool at Anfield.
The youngster was playing on despite Tierney being fit and available, as he continued to put in impressive performances, particularly the ones against Newcastle United and Watford. He did make way for Tierney to return to the bench last Monday during Arsenal’s loss to Everton, and it seems like a good transfer deal made by the club.
Gabriel Agbonlahor thinks Tavares is better than Tierney as the Portuguese star offers more than the Scotland international when foraying into the final third. He told Football Insider that Arteta currently has a problem on his hands choosing a first-choice left-back which could only be a good thing for the club.
Agbonlahor said, “Arteta’s got a headache. I like Tierney, but I like Tavares as well. Tavares probably offers more going forward for me; he’s quicker, he’s seriously quick. But Tierney is a very good left-back as well. I don’t think you can go wrong with either of them. It’s a good headache to have for the manager.”
Arsenal are back at the Emirates at the weekend as they host Southampton. Arteta will be keen to end his team’s slump, which has seen them lose three of their last four games. It remains to be seen if the manager reverts to picking Tavares or continues with Tierney at left-back, although either option would work for the Gunners.