Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta delivered quite a worrying update about Kieran Tierney on Friday night.
Tierney was omitted from the squad for Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.
And when a player with his injury history is nowhere to be seen, it’s always something to be concerned about.
Arteta didn’t help the collective anxiety regarding the Scot by admitting afterwards that he had no idea for how long the 24-year-old would be sidelined for.
And worrisome as this is, Tierney’s absence could just open the door for Nuno Tavares to absolutely explode into life in North London.Tavares made his full Premier League debut for Arsenal on Friday against Villa and he might be a gem of a signing by Edu.
Signed for £7 million from Benfica, the Portuguese livewire got bums off seats at the Emirates which, for a left-back, is quite an achievement.
It remains to be seen how solid he is defensively but, going forward, the North Londoners have such an exciting player on their hands here.
Everything he did against Dean Smith’s side was done at 100 miles per hour and if there is a silver lining to Tierney’s absence, it’s that Arsenal fans are going to see a lot more of him from here on in.
Even when the former Celtic star is back, he might have to earn a return to the first XI.
Prior to his injury, Tierney wasn’t looking in the best of form and this is a big, big chance for Tavares to put down a marker.
And if his display against Villa is anything to go by, he’s going to give a lot of wingers and right-backs some torrid 90 minutes between now and then.
