Arsenal: 6 biggest player surprises this season

4. Nuno Tavares Running Kieran Tierney Close

One man’s loss being another man’s gain has never rang truer.

Losing Kieran Tierney to injury last season was just about the worst possible injury the squad could have suffered. With no Sead Kolasinac in the country and not a single recognised left-back to slot in, when it did eventually happen it was catastrophic.

Did it derail the season? It certainly veered off track when Tierney missed 14 games with two separate injuries between January and May.

Thus, signing a left-back in the summer was an essential piece of business regardless of whether or not they would be stuck sitting on the bench for most of the season.

When the opportunity arose for Nuno Tavares to get a run in the side once his teammate got injured, there were some nerves over how he’d fare in the Premier League having been a benchwarmer over at Benfica. To be sat here now with a very real debate over who should be starting once both are fit is quite remarkable.

Now that is a surprise. The indomitable Tierney losing form (which is a surprise in itself) and the backup Benfica left-back performing quite superbly to the point where he may be lining up in defence once Arsenal travel to Liverpool next up.

Hats off to Nuno. He’s deserved all the praise he’s received.

Continued on next page…