Nuno Tavares moved from Benfica to Arsenal two and a half years ago, and Mikel Arteta is rumoured to have concluded the defender would be better off somewhere and is willing to part ways permanently.
Nuno Tavares is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest, but Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is willing to let go of the defender in light of Marseille’s interest.
Despite paying approximately £7 million to buy the left-back from Benfica in the summer of 2021, he has not succeeded at the Emirates. His only season really spent with his parent club was the 2021–2022 campaign because he spent the previous season on loan with Marseille, a team in Ligue 1.
For Tavares, that was a season filled with more lows than highs, as he was hooked twice in as many months, either before or at halftime. During an FA Cup away match against Forest, the defender was substituted out after just 34 minutes on one of those occasions.
Throwing his gloves on the ground and drawing jeers from the same Forest supporters he now lines up in front of, Tavares did little to disguise how incensed he was at Arteta’s choice. In the immediate aftermath, the manager of Arsenal was hesitant to throw additional petrol on the fire.
The Spaniard claimed, “I just did it to try to improve the team’s performance.” When questioned if he was aware of the headlines the substitution would create, Arteta showed little sympathy. Tavares was the target of “you’re going to cry in a minute” cries from the home crowd.
“I understand that but I have to make the decision to try to improve the performance of the team when it’s not going in any other direction,” he stated. Reluctant to provide a reason for Tavares’ removal, Arteta insisted that he didn’t “want to talk about any individuals.”
Tavares is obviously not afraid to express his true emotions. He played all of last season on loan at Marseille, who are currently said to be pursuing a permanent contract with him. However, if the defender had had his own, he might have joined them in the summer.
The former star player for Benfica expressed his annoyance at Arsenal for not wanting to include a buyout clause in his Marseille contract the previous season. In October of 2022, he stated to RMC Sport, “I’m not sure if there was a competition issue with Kieran Tierney at Arsenal, but that’s not even the point for me.”
“My goal in coming to Marseille was to be able to play at my position at last. I requested a buyout option when I signed with OM, but Arsenal turned that down.
My representatives and I have always desired this option to buy, but Arsenal did not. Now that I’m at OM, I’m content regardless of my options. I probably would have only participated in the cup at Arsenal.”
Since joining Forest on loan in the summer, he has only made four starts, and the lack of a recall clause in his present contract complicates any negotiations this month. But Tavares’s determination to force Marseille to take him away from Arsenal once more—and this time permanently—must have left quite an impression on those in charge there.
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