Sambi Lokonga has sent a message of support to Arsenal teammate Nuno Tavares after the left-back's horror show in the Gunners' 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Tavares was weak when challenging for the ball from a free-kick which allowed Joachim Andersen to set up Jean-Philippe Mateta 's opener on the night. The 22-year-old was then caught flat-footed as he failed to anticipate Gabriel Magalhaes' mistake in the build-up to Jordan Ayew's second.
As a result, he was brought off and replaced by Gabriel Martinelli at the break, although Mikel Arteta did insist that it was just a tactical tweak: "Today it was just a tactical reason," said he said in his post-match press conference. "How I wanted to do it with what Palace were doing there and how we could attack and control the game much better in that position, put another attacking midfielder with Emile in that position. I’m sorry that it was Nuno again but we had to do it."
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It's not the first time Tavares has been taken off early this season, as he was subbed after just 35 minutes in the FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest back in January. Nevertheless, he's determined to get back on the right track, as he admitted on social media on Thursday evening: "Monday was an extremely frustrating night for me personally, for the team and the fans," he said on Twitter and Instagram. "It’s important to pick ourselves up, learn from the mistakes and react positively for Saturday’s game. Still a lot to fight for. COYG."
Luckily, Tavares has the backing of his teammates, including Sambi Lokonga. The Belgian international has been struggling with his own lack of game time in recent weeks, but with injuries to both Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey, the duo are expected to have the chance to make their mark against Brighton on Saturday.
In response to Tavares' instagram post, Lokonga replied: "Let's show them who you are irmao!" If anything, it shows just how committed these young Gunners are to succeeding at the Emirates. Fans will be hoping that their spirit and determination is enough to get over the line in the race for top four, but with plenty of big games to come, there's still a long way to go.
