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Campbell slams Arsenal stars as Arteta sends 'big' message pre-Liverpool
Kevin Campbell has claimed some Arsenal stars were playing with “one eye” on the League Cup semi-final during their FA Cup loss on Sunday.
The former Highbury favourite, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested Mikel Arteta was trying to send a message to his team by substituting Nuno Tavares in the 34th minute of the game.
Arsenal left-back Tavares was replaced by Kieran Tierney in the first half as Nottingham Forest recorded a shock 1-0 win over the Gunners in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
The Gunners face Liverpool tomorrow in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.
Campbell suggested the cup clash was weighing heavily on the players’ minds during their shock third-round exit.
He slammed the performance, insisting it was “not good enough”.
“Tavares will be frustrated, and I’m sure he will be thinking that it was personal,” he told Football Insider‘s Dylan Childs.
“Sometimes as a manager, you will think about whether you should wait until half time.
“These substitutions always have a bigger impact in the first half. Everybody on the pitch knew they were playing badly. Then they see the substitution and think: ‘We had better fix up’.
“Arsenal could well have been playing with one eye on the semi-final, which isn’t good enough. There’s a lot of squad players at Arsenal who aren’t good enough.”
Arsenal can set up a Wembley final against Chelsea or Tottenham with a win over two legs against Liverpool.
Meanwhile, the Gunners sit fourth in the Premier League.
In other news, pundit predicts Arsenal could be about to sign “frightening” £50m starlet.