A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that Nuno Tavares moving to Nottingham Forest was a good move for the player and the club. However, everything was thrown into limbo when it was reported that the player pulled out on talks with Nottingham Forest, as Tavares explored a move to Aston Villa and Sevilla. 

No bids came from the aforementioned clubs and Tavares was in the trenches, as Mikel Arteta and Arsenal moved on without him, playing three games in the new Premier League campaign, narrowly winning the first two encounters with Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace before dropping points in rather cruel fashion against Fulham. 

With Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu and even Jurrien Timber all ahead of Tavares, it was going to take a miracle for the Portuguese to get featured this season, and the likeliest option for him was certainly a move away from the Emirates. Tierney recently made a loan move to Real Sociedad, as Edu Gaspar sought to further trim the squad on Arteta’s request, so it was evident that Nuno Taveres was surplus to requirements and if he wanted to resurrect his dwindling football career, a move out of Arsenal was the most plausible alternative.

It has been reported that Nottingham Forest has re-opened talks with Nuno Taveres, with a loan move mooted with an option to buy clause inserted. This means that Tavares has an entire campaign with Nottingham Forest to stake a claim for a permanent deal, and with the club playing with three at the back, Tavares will compete with new signing, Ola Aina, for a starting berth in the left wing back role. This was a role he thrived very well at Olympique Marseille, scoring six goals in 39 appearances for the French outfit. He would probably had sealed a move to Marseille but a feud with his manager, Igot Tudor, stopped that from happening.

Everyone at Arsenal wishes Tavares the very best, and we hope that he will do well enough to seal a permanent deal with the club.