Winterburn insists Arsenal man is not a ‘viable option’ for Arteta

Nigel Winterburn thinks the poor form of Nuno Tavares means he is no longer a “viable option” for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

The Portuguese left-back was hauled off at half-time in the Gunners’ 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park ten days ago.

That came after Tavares put in another poor display against Nottingham Forest in his last start back in January, lasting only 35 minutes before being substituted.

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Instead of playing Tavares at left-back against Brighton last weekend, Arteta decided to deploy midfielder Granit Xhaka there instead.

And now Winterburn doesn’t think Tavares can be trusted to fill in for the injured Kieran Tierney, who is likely to miss the rest of the season.

“I just don’t think he fully understands the complete role of a fullback and I think there’s a lot more he needs to learn defensively in terms of the situations he puts himself in,” Winterburn told the Daily Mirror.

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“He needs to learn that side of the game very quickly and get back to the form going forward