Arsenal sent Nuno Tavares out on loan to Nottingham Forest in the summer - and the Portuguese full-back has hinted at unhappiness at how he's been treated in north London
Nuno Tavares has hinted that he was never trusted by Mikel Arteta during his time at Arsenal.
Tavares joined Arsenal for PS8million from Benfica in the summer of 2021, but has only made 28 appearances for the club since. He spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan at Marseille and is now at Nottingham Forest, where his struggles for game time have continued.
The 24-year-old left-back made a rocky start at Arsenal and was twice hauled off by Arteta following shaky performances. Tavares had a better time of things at Marseille, bagging six goals in 39 appearances, but has encountered similar issues at Forest, where ex-manager Steve Cooper didn't call upon him much.
He has only played 11 times this season and remains under contract with Arsenal until June 2025, but is expected to be made available for transfer this summer. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu have impressed at left-back for Arsenal this season, forcing Kieran Tierney to head out on loan to Real Sociedad.
"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]."
He added: "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."
Nuno Tavares hasn't shone at Nottingham Forest ( Image:
"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," the defender told RMC Sport. "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."