“Has to get his head right for the manager to trust him again” – Kevin Campbell identifies Arsenal player ‘struggling for confidence’ 

Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell has urged struggling left-back Nuno Tavares to 'get his head right'.

The Gunners have suffered two back-to-back defeats in the Premier League with their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur leapfrogging past them in the league table. Antonio Conte's Spurs now seem to be in the driving seat in the race for the fourth spot.

Arsenal take on Southampton on Saturday in the Premier League and will be desperate to get back to winning ways.

Kevin Campbell has suggested that Nuno Tavares is 'struggling for confidence' right now. The 52-year-old admitted that it will be 'difficult' for Arteta to play the 22-year-old 'through it'. However, he reckons that playing Granit Xhaka at left-back will be 'a big risk' for the Gunners.

When asked about Nuno Tavares, Campbell told Football Insider:

“At the end of the day, the young lad is struggling for confidence. This is an issue for young players at big clubs. It is difficult to have someone play through it when you are going for something. You cannot take that risk. But it was also a big risk to play Xhaka there. It backfired because the team dipped again."

Campbell has urged the Portuguese full-back to 'get his head right' in order to regain the trust of his manager. He added:

“Nuno has to get his head right for the manager to trust him again. Earlier on in the season, he looked the business but after a spell of not playing, he has not performed. He has struggled lately though so I don’t blame the manager for not playing him against Brighton.”

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Arsenal's campaign has been affected by injuries

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has done quite an admirable job this season with a pretty thin squad at his disposal. However, the lack of squad depth has come back to haunt the Gunners at the worst possible time.

Just when the fourth spot seemed to be theirs to lose, Arsenal have lost several of their key players to injuries. At the moment, three of their star men are on the treatment table in the form of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey.

Cedric Soares has filled in the shoes of Tomiyasu well but the absences of Partey and Tierney are being felt. Tavares must step up his game in order to let Xhaka play in his natural position, which could ease the situation.