Arteta reveals one of Arsenal star Tavares' biggest qualities

The summer signing has impressed in Kieran Tierney’s absence ahead of Arsenal’s latest match this week.

Nuno Tavares’ ability to stay unfazed on the pitch has impressed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

The 21-year-old, who joined the club from Benfica in the summer for an €8 million deal, made his first Premier League start in last week’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa at the Emirates.

With Tierney injured, Tavares didn’t waste his chance. The Portuguese have an energetic performance at left-back and wasn’t fazed at all, a trait Arteta rates as one of his ‘biggest qualities’.

“That’s something that we really liked about Nuno when we were looking at him, and credit to Edu and the scouting department when they were doing the process because that is something that we have discussed a lot because we want a certain character to play for Arsenal,” Arteta told the club’s website.

“To deal with that pressure, to be able to perform straight away when you are needed and to go from not playing to playing straight away, and to have this capacity to do what he did. So credit to the boy.

“One of the biggest qualities he has is that he is not fazed at all when is playing. He was not fazed to make a debut like he did, the risks that he takes, the actions that he puts in place.

“Plus what you can see, his physicality, he is naturally a very gifted athlete. He can run and he can change speed and direction, and technically he is very gifted.

“But for me the most important thing is that he is a defender and he needs to defend first, and then he can provide the rest of his qualities.”

Tavares hopes to impress again for Arsenal in Tuesday’s EFL Cup clash with Leeds. For match details and betting tips, check out the link here.