A year ago today, Mikel Arteta unveiled a relatively unknown left-back from Benfica called Nuno Tavares. Arsenal paid just £6.8 million for the youngster, and to be fair, early on in the season he looked like a real bargain as he was covering for the ever-injured Kieran Tierney, with many fans suggesting that he could be the first choice for that position ahead of Tierney.
But Tierney was reinstated when fit and it seemed that Tavares didn’t enjoy being relegated to the bench. When he was finally brought back when Tierney got injured yet again he seemed to be lacking in confidence and emotionally out of sorts, so much so that Mikel Arteta played Xhaka as left-back instead att times.
But hopefully he will be more settled after a year in London and he may be able to improve his consistency. But the consensus amongst Arsenal fans seem to be that we should bring in a more experienced left-back and send Tavares out on loan. In fact Fabrizio Romano reports that there are many interested clubs. The transfer guru told the Que Goalazo Podcast: “Tavares has many proposals. Spanish clubs, French clubs and Italian clubs are all interested in him, but at the moment, Arsenal are not accepting any bid for Tavares.
“So, let’s see. I saw these rumours, but at the moment, I’m told it’s not something like close or imminent.”
To be honest, I do think that we should be bringing in a new left-back to cover for Tierney, but I don’t think that Tavares should be sent out on loan either. He should be at least be playing in the early rounds of the Europa League and given time to rebuild his confidence, and if needed we could still loan him out in January….
What do you think?
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Dont loan him…………………..SELL HIM
He is as bad as Andre Santos. Buy Zinchenko to replace injury prone Tierney
I’d prefer to keep him, rather than signing a new LB. His weaker foot is quite adept, which is a rare trait for a tall LB
He’d also be very useful if Arteta uses wingback formations
If we do have to loan him out, I’d like Arsenal to sign Zinchenko or Ake. We’ve seen Jesus’ confidence and skills as compared to our players, so I bet other Man City players are also technically superior to ours
Yeah, I was thinking that as well…. Tavares would be great when the tactics dictate that a wing-back formation is needed.
A loan would be best all round. He needs game time but I doubt MA sees him in the immediate plan based on last seasons performances. His confidence was shot. He needs to mature mentally with games. He obviously has the potential to succeed so keep him and loan out!
Nuno, Lokonga and white Ben white are all bought by the apprentice and they are a waste of scarce resources.
Ben white very average and only worth half the amount we paid for him, same with Lokonga. In fact, I believe there are young lads in our academy that will do far better than Lokonga and Nuno if given a chance.
The only guy that justified the money we paid for him last season is Tomiyasu.
Don’t loan him, SELL HIM.
Loan to a PL club or a big club who plays CL football. Like what we did for Salina.
And that too if we sign a proper cover for Trienny.
I say keep him. Heck the coach is getting in the job training, why can’t “Skyball” Tavares…IJS 😁
That’s a great point NYG
He’s been here 12 months and played like 10 games .
Arteta as been given time then why shouldn’t Tavares
Well, it will all depend on what Edu does in the transfer market. If he manages to find a competitive LB then I’d loan him out and hope he improves.
Should he improve, I’d sell him next summer. Just like the club should have done with AMN during his one and only good spell at the club.
Some people say Arteta is a great coach. So why is Tavares not a great success now? Why is Lokonga not a great sucess already? Why were Laca, Auba and Pepe abject failures last season? Why were Leno Mari Chambers Tavares Elneny Lokonga Nketiah Balogun all adjudged to be useless after the 0-3 start to the season? Surely a great coach by seasons end would have reintergrated them all into the squad? Surely a top coach like Arteta would have Torreira Guendouzie Mavropanos Bellerin Niles + Nelson firing on all cylinders for Arsenal by now? Instead Arteta purged 14/15 players and settled on 12 trusted players to see out the second half of the season. It very nearly got us top 4. Did Arteta coach Saka ESR and Martinelli to success last season? Or were they just naturally talented players? Maybe for Arteta it is all about selecting the players who “already” have the appropriate skill set. On that basis coaching is not necessary. Motivating said players is all that is required.
So does Artea the “coach” actually mean
Selection plus motivation? Maybe thats what all successful” coaches are including Wenger Ferguson Klopp Guadiola Tuchel Conte Pochettino. And is that just another name for Cheque book manager?
@fairfan
I think he’s trying to fill the team with super talented players to cover up his lack of coaching skills and hope it all works out. Hence the acquisition of the “Samba” contingent…IJS
Now that really is funny! So are you saying that Pep Guardiola is buying superstars because he’s a crap coach? lol
Surely the job of any coach in the world is to buy the best players available to him?
Admin Pat let me laugh by your side.
PAT , NYG did NOT say the words you are unfairly trying to put into his mouth.
I am somewhat perturbed by your definitely noticeable tendency to act as a spiteful fan and NOT to act as a formerly respected site admin, much at all these days!
And above ALL, YOU SHOULD NOT PUT YOUR OWN KNOWINGLY DELIBERATELY WRONG INTERPRETATION OF WHAT SOME WRITE, INTO THEIR MOUTH, WHEN THEY HAVE NOT SAID IT!!
NAUGHTY MAN PAT! Return to your proper admin role please!
@Jon, please stay in your place as a reader and commenter and don’t presume to tell me how to run my website.
As to NYG, he DID say that Arteta was just buying excellent players as he does not have the ability to coach them, so my point was that Pep only bought superstars so does that mean he can’t coach either? My interpretation was absolutely correct and obviously (again to use your words) some lesser mortals may not have been able to see it….
Pat No meeting of minds at all on this matter.
Either one is free to post ones own true thoughts without unwarranted admin crits OR one is effectively forced to not bother with JA AT ALL.
I will watch to see what develops but as we both know this has been and would always remain an ongoing unresolvable battle between free speech and far too hasty censorship.
Interesting idea Jon, but I DID NOT censor the comment. I simply responded with my counter argument….
@Admin Pat
What a comparison. Pep takes individual players and turns them into a superstar team. The key there is good man management and deft tactics. De Bruyne was considered a flop at Chelsea. Look at him now.
Now compare Mikel to Ranieri at Leicester City. One year in the job and he turned a bunch of unknowns into EPL Champs. It was no fluke, but a footballing master stroke, thanks to good man management and deft tactics. Two things Mikel seems lacking in…IJS
I’ll admit, my comment was a bit “cheeky”. It was just an observation though…No harm, no foul. 😁
I must beg to differ about de Bruyne. He wasn’t a flop. Chelsea or more correctly Mourinho didn’t fancy him. Just like Salah and Lukaku in fact. Mourinho sold de bruyne to Wolfsburg for peanuts (around 18m). He then went on to become Germanys player of tthe season. Then Guardiola paid absol⁰ute fortunes at the time (50m?) For a top class player….
Pep didn’t MAKE him a top player…. He bought one.
Bad example for you maybe?
Can i chime in Pat admin, yes he did pay a lot for De Bruyne but he is far more improved and would be worth far more now. I think the point is coaching.
Nice saying Admin Pat, I red a piece about de Bruyne from younger days. He was an introvert boy with one big passion. He had a strong inner drive but needed to be accepted as he was. When he went Wolfsburg people treated him better and he felt accepted. We all need to be seen, and some need it more than others. Life hasn’t always been easy for de Bruyne, and he needed obviously more than Mourinho was able to offer him.
First off mavaponos is terrible there is no talent in him, and Wenger managed bellerin, Niles, and they weren’t playing well were they. Your being completely unfair to Arteta. Secondly, Auba was having problems and Laca was struggling to get in good position. Finally why are u comparing Arteta to the some of the greatest manager of all time.How is that fair? You cannot expect Arteta to make bad players into champions league standered it’s just unrealistic
I’m continually perturbed by the idea that laca was bad last season – he played badly in 2 or 3 games before Eddie took over but prior to that he was instrumental in our good form. Either people have very short memories or can’t fathom the idea of a forward playing well/making key contributions without actually scoring themselves.
It’s such a shame.
On your actual comment – this whole idea of coaching is a bit weird. It started because arteta was considered to be a talented coach at City. I’m not sure how much hands on coaching each of those managers you mention actually did themselves – I’m quite sure Ferguson at least relied on assistants and coaches to handle training, he was careful about who he trusted for the job, though. Anyway, I don’t think it’s so critical for the manager to be a great coach, as long as he can identify and articulate the areas each of the players need to work on. Maybe that’s the issue?
Laca was not a bad player for Arsenal even up until he was replaced. However, his all round game had become less impactful and he does not score enough goals.
As for the coaching issue, some have simply taken a disliking to Arteta and look for any kind of reason, much of which has little logic, to try to discredit him.
Do you expect all players wearing an Arsenal shirt to be a potential star player? No manager has 100% success rate with all his players. Despite the fact that the selection may be from a completely different shelf than the majority of the players you are mentioning.
On the other hand, the players are not without responsibility for their own development. Becoming the best version of yourself can be challenging for many, even for privileged football players. Which means you need motivate and push yourself and grab the chances when you get them.
Let us keep Tavares and build him up into a star. First of all he has speed. His problem is that instead of playing up front most of his passes are on his own half of the field The coach can work on that. He is a coach because he can rehabilitate player and guide them to
Correct their weaknesses and step up.
Tavares should be kept and corrected. Lokonga and Tavares should be given extra training Sessions on driving the ball most of the time into opponents
Camps instead of keeping balls in their half of the field. Patino, Tavares
and Lokonga should receive extra sessions on moving all balls upfront.
It will cost AFC less to groom them on the job and in the field than spend
Large sums of money on back ups instead of adding depth to AFC.This is
a very serious matter to look into.
Apart from Salina and Smith Rowe that have been upgraded what have the past Loan Deals done to the Club
to cut down cost on purchases of players to upgrade? Virtually Zero.!!!!
I am for keeping TAVARES HERE. No loan and not playing him as any sort of defender either. To my mind it is clear that his best use is going forward and progessing the ball
Not as a wing back, as wing backs also need to defend and he is not good at that. But he IS talented and I am all for keeing him and using him in lesser comps, League cup and early EL rounds.
I think he will develop but NOT as a defender at all. Play him where he is best suited, PLEASE MA!
We are just not giving players time to settle in and come to terms with the PL and what Mikel wants from his players.
We all saw what he is capable of and with the correct coaching, that surely must improve?
The problem is, the seemingly reoccurring injuries that Tierney suffers, that then puts pressure on whoever is selected to replace him in that important area.
That’s why, if Tierney is injured again, we should play a back three, while Tavares learns his trade in the PL.
Ken, i believe Tavares went backwards, ot forwards, that is what people need to remember. The kid is super talented but now looks so unsure of his role.
@Reggie
People are different some cope with pressure and expectations better than others. Some are apparently not affected by personal mistakes and adversity, while others lose self-confidence and are greatly affected by own mistakes. Perhaps it might be beneficial for Tavares to play regularly in league with less pressure for a while to restart his career.
It depends on many things.
What vision does Arteta have for the time when he has all the pieces in place?
As I’ve said before – my personal opinion, as a non-expert in these matters, is that he *seems* to be heading towards a high press but with a basic structure that’s more of a back-five with wingbacks and 3 CBs (and he can only do that when he has the right people on board).
Nearly every post I read here assumes an old back four with discussion of “full backs” needing cover etc.
And they may be right, I acknowledge that freely – but perhaps we should allow for the possibility that this is not what’s in the manager’s mind.
Keeping Tavares in the squad could make a lot of sense if he’s to be used in that line-up?
To me Nuno Tavares shouldn’t be sold out or send on loan because the few times I watched him, he’s such a good guy that got speed talented and carries the club on his shoulder. Arsenal, please give him more game time I love him
Keep, he’s a good player.
Think he has his specific uses. He’s not as bad as everyone is making him out to be but he is def a liability if we are gonna rely on him to be a Tierney backup. I’d only use him as a squad player/sub and throw him on when we need to score and drive the ball up the pitch as quickly as possible. If nobody is interested in signing him I’d be fine with him staying. If we can make the money back/make a profit, let him go and find somebody new.
A season long loan for Tavares and Pepe insert clause that will ensure maximum playing time as simple as that.
We seems not to learn from recent experiences, look at Nelson and Saliba,
Please we must Salvage a portion of that £72 mil from Pepe, he may well comes alive after a consistent run.
Why does it matter to you, if we get money back on Pepe? Do you stand to profit financially?
Look Kroenke, makes and loses millions every year, he uses our club as a tax loss, anyone can see that. Whereas Joe lewis uses Spurs in a different way. He is only worth half of what Kroenke, some 5bn behind and that does not include what Kroenke’s wife is worth.
When Arsenal sign a player, the whole package is factored in, term of contract, transfer fee, signing on fee, agents fees, wages, bonuses and loyalty payments. The club does not expect to receive anything at the end of a contract. If they do it is considered a bonus. I know this because for many years I was a shareholder. People need to stop worrying about Stan and the club’s finances and start supporting the team, that is your only duty as a fan or a supporter, which ever one you may be?
Atid I was merely looking at ways on how we could strengthen the gaffer’s war chest.
Now if we manage to resell Pepe say for £36 mil, imagine how far that could go in landing Savic or even Raphinha for that matter, we have to find ways of maximizing our resources.
On like Man City and Chelsea previous owner, Kroenke won’t be throwing money at us like that Arsenal has a different model of doing things
From the look at things regarding Pepe, we seems to be heading in the direction of giving him away for £10 mil, and you are aware we are famous for that.
I disagree.
Fans or supporters can and should be allowed to have a view on a club’s use of it’s funds.
He made a couple of mistakes, how many has Xhaka made FFS!
Truth
True, it’s not about doing mistakes but how you handle them. Tavares has obviously lost his confidence and seem to be struggling with his mistakes. When you are afraid of doing mistakes you will probably do more, it’s psychological.
Even if we sign another left back, I would keep him and convert him into a winger, either loan him out as a winger or groom him ourselves. The talent is there for all to see, but defensively there appears to be to much to do.
There are certain skills that simply cannot be coached by a Manager.Ball skills, composure and football intelligence are 3 that come to mind.Football intelligence includes positional sense which is where Tavares seems to be very deficient from the matches I saw him play last season.This fundamental weakness allied to an inability to retain possession in tight situations will not be resolved by a Coach unless the penny suddenly drops in the mind of the player.Top class players have inbred football intelligence, and ,unfortunately, Tavares does not fall into this category.It’s particularly frustrating as he has immense physical attributes including real pace which in itself is a huge asset.I sincerely hope he can find a way to improve in the areas mentioned and can make the breakthrough this season, whether on loan, or if he stays with us.
Sell please! NOW!
Good enough lad I’m sure but a defender he ain’t
Convert him to a winger.
For 7m it could be a bargain.
You want instant gratification. The joy of seeing a team become a Team is lost on you. Patience, and trust. Its looking good for us. We have a style now and its the process of finessing the team.
Tavares needs time to build his confidence and he needs time to show Arteta & Co that he’s improved and has the confidence he was lacking last season. The only way to do that is for him to play every week he needs to go out on loan to build his Arsenal career. He won’t be trusted to play until he’s proved by playing.
Get a more experienced and proven left back to be Tierney’s backup. After that, send Tavares on loan. He is hungry for playing and will not have that at Arsenal this season.
Should we look for a backup to Tierney or a replacement for him? He came in injured and has remained that way ever since, yet we still believe he should be captain yet he’s never always available. As Arsenal fans, maybe we should be more interested in signing a starter at LB.
Name me one player who is “always available”. That’s right, no such player has ever existed, apart from “Roy of the Rovers” who will be known to those of a certain vintage on JA.
Loan him
the fact that we tabled a bid for Grimaldo shows MA lack of confidence in Tavares.if we were to sign another LB,the best solution would be a loan and if reports are true,Marseille’s new coach has made him one of his top targets,he’ll then come back a better,more experienced player, or he could be sold hopefully not at a loss,win win situation.
I’ve Joe read all the comments. A few things to mention:
1. It’s Saliba not Salina!
2. Loan Taveres and possibly look to move him into Wing position sounds good but we have decent left sided wingers so I don’t know where he would fit in
3. Admin Pat and Jon was it just calm down AP is obviously the boss on this website so just play ball
4. Arteta is an excellent coach especially at bringing players skills and performance levels up, but there has to be talent in there to unlock and maybe Tavares doesn’t have what it takes, Arteta has to make that call and he’s far more adept at this than we are. As for giving Taveres more time at Arsenal next season we’ll if we want top 4 finish we can’t afford to carry players that can’t do their basics and for Taveres that is to defend.
5. We should hail Arteta and the Hale End Academy for bringing youth through the ranks, every season we see the next ones lining up like Patino and Balogun and if those players are given a chance which can be daunting, and I’m talking about Saliba and Balogun then it’s best to loan them out to gain that experience before returning to the squad. Look where ESR is now.
6. Pepe get better the more he plays, the problem is there are better more talented and trusted players ahead of him. He’s has every chance to show what he can do it’s now time to sell him
7. Laca was N amazing link player last season he got the younger players firing and we starting winning games, he was the key. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t scoring goals however when he was out with Covid Eddie stepped in, the younger players continued to perform and Eddie also performed and added additional Gail’s that we were missing. But we mustn’t forget that it was Laca who gave the youngsters the courage and support to play.
8. Pep, and Arteta are excellent coaches, Ferguson was an excellent Manager and Tactician, and Pep is also an excellent Manager and Tactician. Arteta is developing into an excellent Manager the way he’s handled certain players, the way he’s spearheaded a new culture across the breadth and depth of Arsenal and reconnected with the fans speaks volumes at how well he’s done. But he does still have things to develop further one being his tactics during games. I think his games plans are mostly correct but he’s young and relatively inexperienced compared to Pep, Klopp, and Ferguson this will improve in time
9. I have concerns around our midfielders and a certain rumour that’s not going away and therefore conclude we need Teilemans hopefully Paqueta and possibly one more addition during this transfer window. That maybe what has held up signing during the last week or so.
Done