Arsenal: Nuno Tavares decision made easy by Tierney

Mikel Arteta labelled the form of Nuno Tavares as a selection ‘dilemma’ he hopes to see more of a Arsenal as the decision on whether to stick with the 21-year-old at left-back becomes an interesting talking point ahead of facing Watford.

The manager’s 100th game in charge is one the home side will be expected to win after their 2-0 victory over Leicester extended the club’s unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions, a game that Nuno was once again excellent in.

That is now two successive Premier League outings where the defender has put in strong shifts in place of the injured Kieran Tierney, with his displays prompting a discussion over who deserves the regular starting berth.

Some indifferent form from the Scot has added bite to the discussion, and with Tierney still not certain to be available for Sunday’s clash there are strong claims for the Portuguese to retain his place.

Nuno Tavares should play ahead of Kieran Tierney against Watford with Arsenal not needing to rush the defender back from injury ahead of Scotland matches

Set to be assessed ahead of the game, although Arteta is ‘hopeful’ of his availability, even if Tierney is passed fit for the visit of the Hornets it would be wise of Arteta to keep fielding Nuno. With both fully fit it is still Tierney who holds the edge in terms of overall ability, but with the international fixtures to come there is no need to rush him back.

Arsenal are outstanding favourites to beat Claudio Ranieri’s side. Tierney will eventually resume his spot in the lineup, but Scotland have two fixtures to come over the 13-day gap in club matches and those will be plenty enough for him to regain fitness before a decision on personnel can be made again.

Should Scotland beat winless Moldova in their first match they will guarantee themselves second spot in Group F, which will be essential before facing runaway leaders Denmark. Steve Clarke will, without doubt, use Tierney in both.

In this long season there is no need to be hasty. Nuno playing as well as he is bodes well for the future, and giving Tierney adequate recuperation time should be taken when possible.

Last season the 24-year-old would have been playing on the weekend even if he was 70% fit. Now having another option in the team everyone can rely on is precisely why signing a left-back over the summer was so important.

Tierney will come back into the team at some stage. Yet, with Watford on home soil and Nuno building up some good form, there is no need to rush if Arsenal don’t have to.