Tavares to Nottingham Forest: Good Move for Player and Club

It’s fair to say that Nuno Tavares first and probably only season with Arsenal didn’t light up any fireworks.

Kieran Tierney’s unreliable fitness forced the Gunners to source for his potential backup, or replacement, and Arsenal parted ways with about  £8 million to secure his services from Benfica. The Portuguese youngster made his Arsenal debut as a substitute in the embarrassing 2-0 defeat to Premier League newbies, Brentford, and with yet another trademark Tierney injury, Tavares got an extended run in the side, initially showing off his attacking prowess that earned plaudits from his gaffer, but his performances dwindled and were marred by positional mistakes and lapses in concentration, making his manager play Granit Xhaka as a make-shift left back, instead of Tavares. His error in the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield was pretty much the final nail in his Arsenal playing coffin as the manager lost faith in him.

Tavares managed to get his first and only Arsenal goal in the 3-1 win over Manchester United in April 2022, and after featuring in 22 Premier League games, he was part of the Gunners side that missed out on Champions League qualification, which really hurt. 

At the start of last season, Tavares secured a loan move to Olympique Marseille, and requested for the loan clause to have a permanent option but Arsenal rejected his proposal. Featuring predominantly as a left wing back for Marseille, Tavares attacking abilities was on show, as he smashed in a goal on his Marseille debut in the 4-1 victory over Stade de Reims, and he continued his scoring streak in the very next game against Brest. Tavares enjoyed consistent minutes with Marseille, playing 31 out of 34 Ligue Un games for the French outfit, with the only three games he missed coming from a straight red card he received for violent conduct, after deliberately kicking Arnaud Souquet of Montpellier in his penalty box. 

Following his return to Arsenal, which left him saddened to leave Marseille, Tavares joined his compatriots to feature in the Euro Under-21s Championships, and helped his nation to a quarterfinal place, before losing to the eventual winners, England Under-21s. Like Emile Smith-Rowe, Tavares was given a break to recuperate from his international football exertions, but Smith-Rowe cut his holidays short to join the squad in the MLS Tour, while Tavares stayed back, and hasn’t been available for selection since the season started.

With Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu and even Jurrien Timber all ahead of Tavares, it was going to take a miracle for the youngster to get featured this season, and the likeliest option for him was certainly a move away from the Emirates. It looks like he will be getting his wish, as it has been reported that Nottingham Forest are interested in signing him on a permanent basis. 

Tavares leaving to a club like Nottingham Forest will allow him to replicate his form at Marseille and give their new left back, Ola Aina, a good run for his money. Nottingham Forest plays with a back three, so this will allow Tavares bomb forward in the left wing back role, while Renan Lodi before him last season. His move will also align with Arsenal’s ambitions to continue the trimming of the squad, while making a few quid to boot.

I liked Tavares as a player, but his defensive frailties left a lot to be desired and in a team like Arsenal that’s challenging for the title, he no longer has a place. More importantly, the left back role at Arsenal sees the defender invert into central midfield, and Tavares is no where near capable of attempting that. 

With two weeks left before the transfer window closes, I am hopeful that Arsenal and Nottingham Forest work things out and get this deal over the line. This would mean that Edu would have successfully parted ways with the young Portuguese fullback, while trying to figure out how to ship out the older Portuguese fullback.

Sayonara.

Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter  @goonerdaily.

Visit Gooner Daily’s  Facebook page.

Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List