Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares has told the Marseille club website that he believes he can earn a maiden Portugal call-up for the World Cup after signing for the Ligue 1 side on loan.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has agreed to let Tavares spend the new season in France after buying Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. The £32m arrival will now push Kieran Tierney to be the first-choice, left-back at the Emirates Stadium, and offers midfield depth.
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Tavares had spent last season as Tierney’s understudy after moving to north London from Benfica for £7m last July. He initially showed promise after stepping in for the Scot, but his defensive errors later proved costly as Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Arteta started Tavares in a total of 13 Premier League games from 22 appearances for one goal and one assist. But the Spaniard was also ruthless in taking the 22-year-old off at half-time in defeat to Crystal Palace and the first-half of their FA Cup exit to Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares eying World Cup call-up after signing for Marseille
Tavares now has a chance at Marseille to recapture the form he showed with Benfica that initially caught Arsenal’s eye. He also hopes signing for the Ligue 1 giants catches Portugal boss Fernando Santos’ attention, as the Selecao chief begins planning for the World Cup.
“If I think of the World Cup? Yes, of course,” Tavares claimed, as quoted by Foot Mercato. “I think all players believe in it. I think I can do it. Not today, maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow – I don’t know. I have to focus on OM and we’ll see what happens after.”
Tavares has only represented Portugal at youth level so far in his career, with caps for the U18s, U19s and U21s. He has also been a key part of the U21s unit in the qualifiers for the 2023 European Championship with six games, one goal and two assists through Group D.
The Gunners loanee faces competition from Paris Saint-Germain ace Nuno Mendes to now be Santos’ first-choice in Qatar. Borussia Dortmund star Raphael Guerreiro is also ahead of Tavares in the depth chart, so the Arsenal ace will hope for a lot from signing for Marseille.
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