Nottingham Forest
Looks like a permanent exit is on the cards
Arsenal forgotten man Nuno Tavares has sent a clear message to Mikel Arteta with his comments about ‘trust’. The player hinted that he never felt trusted by Arteta during his time at Arsenal.
Tavares was signed by Arsenal from Benfica for £8million in the summer of 2021, but since then, he has only made 28 appearances for the club. He spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Marseille and is currently at Nottingham Forest, where he continues to struggle for game time.
The 24-year-old left-back had a shaky start at Arsenal and was twice substituted by Arteta after unsteady performances. Tavares had a more successful stint at Marseille, scoring six goals in 39 appearances, but has faced similar challenges at Forest, where former manager Steve Cooper didn’t use him much.
This season, he has only played 11 times and remains under contract with Arsenal until June 2025, but it is expected that he will be put up for transfer this summer. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu have all performed well at left-back this season, which led to Kieran Tierney being loaned out to Real Sociedad.
In a recent interview with French media outlet L’Equipe, Tavares spoke positively about his better times with Benfica and Marseille. “It was the best moment of my career,” he said of his time at Marseille, reports the Mirror.
“I got some interesting stats. In France, football is more physical, faster than in Portugal. It’s not as competitive as the Premier League, but I really liked French football for its intensity.
“It’s always different when a club and a coach trust you, bet on you. Igor Tudor is the coach who placed the most trust in me with Jorge Jesus [at Benfica].
“In Marseille I was happy. I felt a bit like I was in Lisbon. The streets, the people, certain places: in many ways, the two cities are similar and I loved Marseille. The Benfica stadium is prettier but the atmosphere is even stronger, more intense at the Velodrome.
“At Arsenal, I do not know if it was a problem of competition with Kieran Tierney, but for me, that’s not even the point. I came to Marseille to finally be able to play in my position.
“When signing with OM, I wanted to have an option to buy, but Arsenal refused. With my agents, we always wanted this purchase option, but Arsenal didn’t. Now I’m at OM, and with or without an option, I’m happy. At Arsenal, I would have probably only played in the cup.”
