Arteta said it’s unclear when Tierney will be back. His fitness really concerns me. How can we rely on a player with such a poor injury record?
Nuno has looked brilliant albeit small sample size. Think Kieron could have a problem keeping his place if the Portuguese keeps progressing like he is.
Tierney fitness is a concern. I think a fully fit and unimpinged KT still gets the nod but tavarez adds something different. he has good footwork and pace, and tomiyasu being more conservative on the right gives him license to raid forward. still too much of a wild card for me to view him as a reliable 1st choice over a season.
It's a good problem to have. I thought Tavares would be a clear 2nd choice but Tierney needs to work for it now.
Tierney has been poor this season so I'm glad Nuno looks to have something about him.
they do both lose the ball a bit too often but I think Tierney does have substantial competition in Nuno. Another great signing.
Very impressed with this kid
He's fun but his lack of control/finesse needs to be improved on if he's ever going to really challenge Tierney. At the moment, he's all muscle and energy but not much else.
He doesn't have a football brain but someone with his pace and power is always useful to have. He is like Alphonso Davies without the intelligence and technique yet.
Looks like a decent backup and no more.
Brings some much needed unpredictability but at the same time I think part of that is because he doesn't even know himself what he's going to do. Could challenge for the spot, but I don't rate Tierney as highly as some.
He's underrated and preferable to our scared Scot.
it annoyed me in the Watford match that the Smudge (I think it was?) kept talking about Tierney and his superior crossing and movement - clearly hadn't watched the first part of the season.
I prefer KT because I think he's a much smarter player, but Nuno's crosses are actually superior.
Couple of times against Watford we saw one of his best attributes, his first touch on the run. One of those could've led to a goal when he received the call beautifully over his shoulder on the overlap. Unfortunately he often doesn't do that much with it, but one day things might click a bit further.
banduan wrote: it annoyed me in the Watford match that the Smudge (I think it was?) kept talking about Tierney and his superior crossing and movement - clearly hadn't watched the first part of the season. I prefer KT because I think he's a much smarter player, but Nuno's crosses are actually superior.
I think KT fit and in form is unotouchable. But Tavares has bags of room for improvement and a pleasantly decent base level of performance. I’m liking this new competitive squad.
Exactly my thoughts on this debate, Flob.
Eboue on steroids.
This kid is chaos. He was brilliant in the second half, that pass for saka was great
He definitely isn't a smart footballer but there's enough in there for us to work with.
Certainly better than what Benfica fans are saying.
To be fair I reckon he's good a decent brain on him, he just gets a little carried away.
I think it shows ambition and lack of fear, even if it doesn't come off.
When Saka came over to play with him, he suddenly looked much smarter. Bit of leadership might bring out the best in him, especially in attack.
