Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal coaching staff were reportedly ‘annoyed’ with Nuno Tavares’ behaviour while he was in north London. The skilful full-back made a barnstorming start to his loan stint with Marseille this season, although things have turned turbulent in recent weeks.Â
The Gunners took a gamble by signing Tavares from Benfica in 2021, by which point he only had 25 top-flight league games under his belt. The youngster was given plenty of football last term, making 28 appearances in all competitions, although his performances were sometimes erratic.Â
With left-back Kieran Tierney establishing himself as a fan favourite at the Emirates and Oleksandr Zinchenko signed in the summer, Arteta took the decision to sanction Tavares’ loan exit, with Marseille sealing the deal in July.Â
The 23-year-old has been incredibly productive since, notching six league goals so far this campaign – more than Gabriel Jesus has managed for Arsenal.Â
DON’T MISS:Â Man City boss Guardiola takes aim at Man Utd after Carabao Cup win
The Gunners have had recent success in loaning youngsters to Marseille, with William Saliba earning a call-up to the French national team during his sparkling temporary stint at Stade Velodrome in 2021/22.Â
Saliba returned to the Emirates as the finished article and started this season as arguably the finest centre-back in the Premier League. Marseille are now eight points behind PSG after Sunday’s defeat, and Tudor’s side have 13 league games remaining to claw back the deficit.Â