Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares is closing in on a deal which will see him leave the club permanently this summer.
The 23-year-old is set to join Lazio on a loan deal with an obligation to buy, which will see Arsenal recoup most of the £7m they spent on him in 2021.
Tavares arrived from Benfica as a young prospect at left-back, but in 28 games in his first season, he showed that he was nowhere near the required level to succeed under Mikel Arteta.
He since went out on loan to Marseille and Nottingham Forest, but his time at the Emirates will now end for good as he heads to the Stadio Olimpico.
The defender did show occasional glimpses of promising talent, and his physical attributes of sheer speed combined with physicality meant that some saw a rough diamond which could be sharpened.
His time at Arsenal will be remembered for the hilarious chaos he would bring to the team, which was perfectly captured in one game against Manchester United.
Nuno Tavares scored his only Arsenal goal in victory over Manchester United
In the late stages of the 2021-22 season, Arsenal were hunting for a top-four spot, and had a crunch clash with Man United at the Emirates.
Tavares started in the absence of Kieran Tierney, and to the shock of almost everyone in the ground, he got Arsenal off to the perfect start.
In just the third minute of the game, Bukayo Saka cut inside and fired a low shot, which was parried out by David De Gea. Tavares was inexplicably in the penalty area, and ghosted past his compatriot Diogo Dalot to score his first and only Arsenal goal.
Arsenal’s chaotic win vs Man Utd was centred around Nuno Tavares
Tavares had handed Arsenal an early lead, and became a hero within that moment. However, his hero status would last just 31 minutes.
Both sides were in chaos in what was an exciting end-to-end game, and Saka had given Arsenal a 2-0 lead from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute. However, heart attacks would follow.
Shortly after Saka’s goal, Cristiano Ronaldo showed his class as he pulled a goal back, but it was a strike which Tavares may not want to watch again. A cross came in from the left, and Ronaldo had ghosted past Tavares to finish, with the defender nowhere near the ball.
Arsenal went into half-time with the lead, which was both helped and hindered by Tavares, and there was still more chaos to come.
In the second half, a cross came in, and Tavares raised his arm when challenging for the ball. The referee gave a penalty, and suddenly the lead was in jeopardy as a result of his error.
However, further drama would follow as fellow Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes missed his spot kick, and Tavares was relieved. Granit Xhaka would then fire home a long-range effort to secure a 3-1 victory in a breathless 90 minutes.
Nuno Tavares was too chaotic for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal
That one game showed what Nuno Tavares was all about: he had the speed to get forward and threaten in attack, but when it came to defending, he would cost Arsenal goals.
Arteta brought in Oleksandr Zinchenko to play a specialist role at left-back to help bring extra control to the midfield, something which Tavares could never offer.
The current iteration of this Arsenal side now controls games with rigid defensive solidity, and fullbacks who can offer a lot in possession whilst also bringing strength at the back.
READ MORE: Arsenal’s XI for Mikel Arteta’s first match as manager
Whilst Ronaldo, who delivered an excellent performance on the day, had no answer for everything Tavares did in defence and attack, it was a display which showed that Arsenal needed a more composed option at left-back, rather than the inconsistent, but occasionally brilliant chaos offered by Tavares.
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