Tavares angrily with his substitution in FA Cup defeat

 

Would his playing for entire 90 minutes have saved Arsenal from FA Cup ouster? No one can say for sure, but Nuno Tavares was furious after getting ruthlessly hooked by Mikel Arteta in the first half of Arsenal’s shock FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

The 21-year-old threw his gloves to the ground in disgust when he was replaced by Kieran Tierney with little over 33 minutes on the clock.

In truth, the defender endured a difficult half hour at the City Ground, so whether his anger was directed at Arteta or at himself remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, the home fans seized the opportunity to have a little fun, taunting the Arsenal star with chants of “you’re gonna cry in a minute”.

At half-time, ITV pundit Ian Wright tore into the Portuguese youngster for his reaction, and criticised him for continuously giving the ball away during his brief first-half stint.

Forest summoned the magic of the FA Cup after Lewis Grabban’s late goal sent Arteta’s side crashing out at the third round stage for just the second time in 25 years.

Coincidentally, it was Forest who last knocked Arsenal out at this stage of the competition, winning 4-2 at the City Ground in 2018.

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Tavares joined Arsenal from Benfica in the summer but hasn’t quite managed to nail down a first team spot.

The youngster has made 18 appearances for the club so far this season, but has had to settle for a place on the bench in the Gunners’ last six Premier League outings.

Nottingham Forest head into the fourth round of the FA Cup where they face a visit from local rivals, and holders of the competition, Leicester City.