Arsenal look set to be without Kieran Tierney for the remainder of the season; Nuno Tavares was replaced at half-time during the Gunners' 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Monday Night Football
Saturday 9 April 2022 13:55, UK
Mikel Arteta has called on Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares to "embrace the challenge" of replacing Kieran Tierney with the Scotland international likely to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The full-back did not play in Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday night after reporting pain in his knee at training on Thursday.
Tierney had been playing with discomfort in the area before he joined up for international duty, and subsequently played every minute of Scotland's friendlies against Poland and Austria.
It is not known if he will be fit for Scotland's World Cup play-off semi-final with Ukraine - likely to be played in June - as Steve Clarke's side aim to qualify for their first edition of the global tournament since 1998.
Arteta was asked how he would feel if the full-back was hurried back to play in his country's play-off encounter with Ukraine and then possibly Wales, but the Spaniard is convinced the correct steps will be taken to ensure there is no setback in the rehabilitation process.
"It is a bit ambiguous but he has a significant injury," Arteta said. "We'll have to keep assessing him and he will be out for some weeks. It's an area where he had a previous injury as well. He felt it straight away and is not fit.
"Our responsibility is to look after the players while they're here but when they go to the national team, that is the job of [Scotland manager] Steve (Clarke). They picked a side to win the games. We have good communication with the national team but these things happen.
"He's just had surgery yesterday so it's very early to understand how everything is going to develop. We don't know what condition he'll be after this period that we estimate he will be out. It's too soon to say how long.
"The player has to do the maximum he can to be in the best possible condition as quickly as possible and I'm sure he'll do that. Once he does that, let's see if he's ready to compete and whether it will be a risk [to play for Scotland]."
Tavares deputised for Tierney in the London derby, but the Portuguese defender was partly at fault for the Eagles' first two goals and was substituted by Arteta at half-time - as he was in the defeat at Nottingham Forest before the interval in the FA Cup.
The 22-year-old could be in line for another start at home to Brighton on Saturday, and Arteta has urged the youngster to take his next opportunity.
"Throughout your career, you have to go through really difficult moments," said Arteta. "He had some really good periods when he arrived at the club and was playing many more minutes than he was probably expecting.
"This is the development of any young player. You go through ups and downs and we're here to help him to make his career better. He's ready and he's willing. He will be disappointed but that's part of the job.
"We make decisions to win football matches and there's nothing personal there. It's a great opportunity for him to show what he can do.
"His confidence may have been low because he wasn't playing many minutes and he wasn't at his best. He needs the rhythm, the competition and the understanding with his team-mates.
"We have to help him to achieve this but during a game you have to decide if something can change the game to make things better. On Monday we made this decision. We have one of the youngest squads in the league but the best way to help is to give them belief. They are prepared to take the challenge.
"I speak with the players and I speak with Nuno as I care about how they feel. It was a decision that hurt him obviously but he understood that it was for the benefit of the team. Now he has to react and it's an opportunity for him to learn in his career."
Arsenal also have Cedric Soares and Granit Xhaka as makeshift left-back cover as well, with both players filling in for the injured Tierney last season under Arteta.
The north Londoners also have problems at right-back, with Takehiro Tomiyasu suffering a setback in his recovery from a calf injury.
It was a damaging weekend for Arsenal last time around in the race for the top four as their north London rivals Tottenham went above them in the table as well as enjoying a seven-goal swing in goal difference.
But their home record has been excellent this season, with Arsenal having won 10 of their 15 matches on Emirates soil - losing only to Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool.
"Monday is gone and we're looking forward to play in front of our fans," added Arteta. "We have to compete much better than we did in the first half [against Crystal Palace].
"We have to embrace the challenge. We lost the game and lost two big players and now we're not going to have them so we can't cry. We have to keep looking for solutions.
"We love to play in front of our fans at the Emirates and we want to perform well again and win the game.
"[The setback] would always happen and it's happened with nine games to go. We now need to show our commitment in front of the fans.
"We have to lift the players up, recognise why we lost the game, react and move forward. When we win, we move forward and we have to be in constant movement.
"We expect Brighton to bring a team with a lot of personality, a coach who is willing to play, aggressive with the press, who want to dominate the game and who are difficult to beat as they offer a lot of chances from set pieces.
"I've really liked Graham Potter, even before his time at Swansea I followed him. He's a really good coach."
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson:
"Kieran Tierney is going to be a big miss for Arsenal. He's one of the players you can't afford to take out of this Arsenal team. He's solid, he's an 8/10 every week, he sets an example.
"He's a winner - you know what you're going to get with him, and he was a big miss on Monday night.
"Nuno Tavares had one of them games at left-back, but it's hard when you're out of the team for so long. You're not really playing football - you're just training. Even playing in the U23s, it's not the Premier League.
"To come in and say: 'Right, play in this game' - you feel for these players. No matter how much you train, it's not the same as playing."
April 9 - Brighton (h)
April 16 - Southampton (a)
April 20 - Chelsea (a), live on Sky Sports
April 23 - Man Utd (h)
May 1 - West Ham (a), live on Sky Sports
May 8 - Leeds (h), live on Sky Sports
May 12 - Tottenham (a), live on Sky Sports
May 16 - Newcastle (a), live on Sky Sports
May 22 - Everton (h)
