Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares has made it clear that he is keen on having one more season in North London after spending the previous campaign out on loan.
Mikel Arteta has turned Arsenal’s fortunes around massively with the club being agonisingly close to winning their first Premier League title since 2005 but were pipped to the crown on the final day of last season.
Part of the reason behind the club’s success over the past two seasons has been the transfer recruitment done by the North London club with the Gunners having more successes than players who have struggled in recent seasons.
However, the Gunners have had a few signings who have simply not worked out and one of these is Portuguese left-back Nuno Tavares.
Tavares opens up on possible return to Arsenal
Tavares has spent the previous two seasons on loan at French side Marseille and Nottingham Forest on loan last September.
However, this move did not work out for the left-back who started just eight Premier League games for the East Midlands side in what was a disappointing spell.
In an interview with Portuguese outlet Noticias ao Minuto, Tavares was asked about his future at the Emirates Stadium and it looks pretty clear where he wants to go.
“My priority is to return to Arsenal. After that, only the future will tell,” said Tavares.
“Everyone knows that I have another year left on my Arsenal contract. I have people I trust looking after my future. There have been a few approaches, but I always leave it to whoever is in charge of my future.”
Tavares’ struggles since moving to Arsenal
The Gunners brought in Tavares back in the summer of 2021 from SL Benfica for a fee in the region of £6 million.
In his debut season for the Gunners, Tavares made just 13 Premier League starts and seemed to struggle with the defensive side of the game.
Arteta ruthlessly substituted the Portuguese defender against Crystal Palace after just 34 minutes during the 2021/22 season and Tavares has seemingly never recovered.
“Today was just a tactical reason for how I wanted to do it with what Palace was doing and how we could attack and control the game much better in that position,” the Gunners boss told the Evening Standard, following the 3-0 defeat to the Eagles.
Whether he will be given opportunities in the first team next season remains to be seen but he clearly wants another chance in North London to prove himself.
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