‘I will return to Arsenal’ – On-loan Ligue 1 sensation drops huge hint on Gunners future

Jason Soutar
Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares during a match

On-loan Marseille defender Nuno Tavares has confirmed he will return to Arsenal at the end of the season.

Arsenal signed Tavares for around £7million from Portuguese giants Benfica in July 2021.

The 23-year-old had a difficult debut season in England and was often exposed defensively.

A very raw player, Tavares was sent on loan to Marseille for the 2022-23 campaign by Mikel Arteta.

The Arsenal manager offloaded the young left-back hoping he would have a similar time with Marseille as William Saliba did.

Saliba spent last term on loan with the French giants and was named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season after a wonderful year.

While Tavares has not exactly been as good as Saliba, he has definitely impressed during his loan spell.

The former Benfica youngster has scored six goals in 20 Ligue 1 appearances, including three in his first four.

He has still shown some inexperience, however, going from hero to zero in a game against Montpellier in January by being sent off 40 minutes after scoring.

Given his better fortunes across the Channel, it is no surprise to see Tavares being linked with a permanent move to Marseille.

The Sun have reported that Tavares ‘unlikely to return to Arsenal and will probably be sold in the summer’.

However, the player has hinted that his future does in fact lie in north London.

“Everyone knows that I still have two years left with Arsenal on my contract,” Tavares said.

“We’ll finish the season. I’m here until the end of the season to reach our objectives with Marseille. I can’t tell you much more.

“I feel very good here, with these players, this manager. We get along really well.

“At the end of the season, I will return to Arsenal. I can’t say much more.”

Tavares is not the only Arsenal left-back facing a summer of uncertainty.

Oleksandr Zinchenko was brought to the Emirates last summer and has seamlessly slotted into that position, leaving Kieran Tierney struggling for game time.

The Scotland international has only made four Premier League starts this season but was Arteta’s first choice in the Europa League group stage.

Arsenal discovered on Friday that they will face Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon in the last 16 of the European competition.

READ MORE: Who is the favourite for the 2022/23 Europa League? Man Utd fancied more than Arsenal…