Arsenal were hard at work in training yesterday ahead of their game against Monaco this evening, and Nuno Tavares was spotted among the group for the first time since last summer.
The Gunners will end their pre-season campaign at home today in the Emirates Cup. Unlike every year where there are four teams in the competition, there will only be one game this year.
Monaco have been invited, and there’s a small chance they could face a player who played twice against them last season – Tavares.
Arsenal signed Nuno Tavares from Benfica in the summer of 2021.
The talented left-back was viewed as a backup to Kieran Tierney, but he started that campaign brilliantly and even kept the Scotsman out of the side for a few games.
However, after a very poor second half of the season at Arsenal, he was loaned out to Marseille last season. He spent a year there, where again, he had a great start and a terrible finish to the campaign.
Tavares, branded as an ‘extraordinary’ player by Igor Tudor (FootMercato), played for the Portugal U21 side in the Euros this summer and was given an extended break by Mikel Arteta. Now, ahead of the Emirates Cup clash against Monaco this evening, he has returned to training.
The defender posted pictures of himself on Instagram, having a laugh with Gabriel Martinelli and Marquinhos at London Colney yesterday.
He was out on the training pitch at Arsenal as well for the first time since he moved to Marseille just over a year ago.
Tavares really is a talented player, but for one reason or another, he hasn’t been able to show any kind of consistency over the last two seasons.
The Portuguese defender is a menace in attack. He’s rapid, excellent with the ball at his feet, and he’s more than capable of chipping in with a goal or two at times too.
However, his defending has been really poor, and he has been caught out on multiple occasions – both at Arsenal as well as on loan at Marseille last season.
Tavares is very likely to be sold by Arsenal in the coming days, but could Arteta give him a run-out today as a final opportunity? We’ll find out this evening.
