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Nuno Tavares has been linked with a move from the Emirates and the defender has reportedly made a transfer decision.
THE LOWDOWN: TOPSY-TURVY TIME AT ARSENAL
Tavares has failed to impress at Arsenal since his move from Benfica last season. The 22-year-old Portuguese, who was brought in to be Kieran Tierney’s deputy, performed below-par in the absence of the Scottish defender a lot of times.
His poor displays forced manager Mikel Arteta to play midfielder Granit Xhaka or right-back, Cédric Soares, in his stead on numerous occasions. Tavares’ struggles reached a high when he found himself being subbed in two consecutive games.
Against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, Tavares was taken off during the first half, and against Crystal Palace in the Premier League. In the latter, he was Arsenal’s ninth-worst player on the pitch, as per WhoScored.
THE LATEST: UNINTERESTED IN FRANCE
Although, French side Marseille have been prominently linked to the defender, no concrete offer was made. Recently, reports emerged earlier in the week that Premier League side Brighton are interested in Tavares’ services.
Now, it appears that the defender has made up his mind not to join Igor Tudor’s side according to La Provence. The club, which finished second in Ligue 1 last season and will play Champions League football next term, reached out to the Arsenal defender but he was not convinced and basically turned them down.
However, his decision has forced Marseille to move on to other targets, such as Hellas Verona’s Darko Lazovic. With the French outfit out of the way, Brighton could fancy their chances of landing the left-back.
THE VERDICT: A MOVE IS A MUST
The imminent arrival of Zinchenko would send Tavares down the pecking order in the left-back position at Arsenal. The most appropriate thing to do for the Portuguese is to leave the club this summer, whether in a loan move or permanently.
Manchester City are desperate to land Brighton’s Cucurella as Zinchenko’s replacement and if this move materializes, the Seagulls could get Tavares away from Arsenal – a win-win situation for all parties.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has spoken about the need to reduce the number in his squad before the start of the campaign and Tavares’ decision to reject a move to Marseille isn’t helping that cause. Well, there is still ample time for a transfer move to happen and the former Benfica defender won’t be a happy man if he stays beyond this summer.
