Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn says Nuno Tavares does not understand his role as a defender urging the player to up his game in a bid to salvage his career at Emirates Airlines.
Tavares signed for Arsenal last summer and did not appear in an Arsenal shirt which led to him being brought down by Mikel Arteta.
The three-time champion in north London, former Arsenal full-back Winterburn does not believe Tavares is defensively equipped to succeed in the position.
“I don’t think he fully understands the full-back role and I think there’s a lot he needs to learn defensively in terms of the situations he puts himself in,” Winterburn told The Mirror.
“He needs to learn that aspect of the game very quickly and get back to the level he put forward that he showed earlier in the season.”
on trust
“The problem is when you’ve been in two games like the one he’s been in, your confidence goes down really fast. You can also lose the fans’ trust, which makes it hard to come back when that happens.”
The north London side will travel to St Mary’s to face Southampton on Saturday after losing back-to-back Premier League matches against Crystal Palace and Brighton.
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