Kieran Tierney was fit again this weekend but Mikel Arteta stuck with Nuno Tavares and after the match wouldn’t be drawn on who his preferred player is for that position.

It must be tricky for a manager, trying to keep all his players happy, especially when you have two in the same position who, arguably, both deserve to start.

Still, it’s been a while since Arsenal have had that problem, so let’s not moan about it.

Arsenal fans can have no fault with Kieran Tierney’s performances since he arrived from Celtic in 2019. The only issue is his tendency to get injured.

Thankfully, Arsenal addressed this by brining in Nuno Tavares for what looks to be a bargain price of £7.2m.

Tavares was thrown into the first team as a starter when Tierney picked up a bruised ankle in training that ruled him out of the last three league games and the Portuguese defender has given Arteta a real headache with his performances.

It was perhaps understandable that Tierney was on the bench on Sunday. He only returned to training two days before the game and will be heading off on international duty with Scotland.

But what happens for the Liverpool game when the international break is over?

“Well, Nuno is playing because he deserves to play,” Arteta told reporters after the 1-0 win over Watford.

“He’s been exceptional in all the performances where he has been given the opportunity.

“But I cannot say anything different with Kieran, Kieran has been superb for us.

“Kieran has been injured, he came back two days ago to do his first full training session. This is what we need – two top players that are raising the level in their position – and I’m happy with that.”

From that, it’s impossible to tell who will start against Liverpool but I’d have to think Tierney will get the nod, assuming he makes it through the break OK.