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Kevin Campbell says Arsenal 21-year-old didn’t play ‘like he normally does’ v Manchester United
Arsenal icon Kevin Campbell has criticised Nuno Tavares, claiming the defender was playing more conservatively against Manchester United than he normally does.
The 21-year-old Gunners left-back has quickly become a fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium thanks to his impressive performances.
Indeed, Tavares has kept Kieran Tierney out of the starting XI, a huge achievement considering how great the Scotland ace has been at Arsenal.
At Old Trafford, the Portuguese gave a fairly decent account of himself, making an effort to push Arsenal up the pitch and make things happen.
However, it could be argued that his decision-making was questionable at times, and Campbell touched on this on .
“He decided to cross as opposed to commit people and break forward like he normally does,” he said.
“At the end of the day he’s on the pitch, he could drive. That’s what he normally does, he drives, but he didn’t.
“And it’s not as if he wasn’t in the position to drive. He was.
“He’s on the pitch, he’s got the ball, he tried it a couple of times, Dalot did well getting a foot in.
“Why he never tried it more, I don’t know… he settled for the crosses.
“Why didn’t he play like he normally does?”
Arsenal had opened the scoring through Emile Smith Rowe on 13 minutes.
However, Bruno Fernandes equalised in the 44th minute.
The Gunners were then denied a penalty after Harry Maguire hauled Takehiro Tomiyasu down in the box.
Cristiano Ronaldo then netted in the 52nd minute to put the hosts 2-1 up.
Although Martin Odegaard equalised almost immediately, the Portuguese struck a penalty midway through the second half.
Arsenal sit fifth in the Premier League table following the 3-2 loss, one point behind fourth-placed West Ham.