Jonathan Johnson has given exclusive insight into Nuno Tavares’ situation in his weekly CaughtOffside column, to be published in full on Substack tomorrow morning.
With Tavares enjoying some impressive form on loan in Ligue 1 this season, Johnson has explained what he likes about the talented Arsenal youngster, who didn’t quite manage to make the same positive impression at the Emirates Stadium last term.
Arsenal fans will no doubt hope Tavares can come back to north London next season and make an impact in Mikel Arteta’s side, and Johnson expects that the Portuguese ace might benefit from moving to a new position.
Tavares has mostly played as a left-back or wing-back in his career so far, but it looks like the 23-year-old has a lot more to offer going forwards than he does defensively.
Johnson admits this may be partly down to how Marseille’s playing style under Igor Tudor, but it might be something for Arsenal to consider when Arteta takes a look at him next pre-season.
“Generally speaking he’s had a pretty good season,” Johnson said. “He’s an interesting player in that many people consider him a left-back, but he’s very attack-minded, has six goals this season and some of them very nice finishes as well.
“He reminds me a little of Layvin Kurzawa when he was coming through at Monaco, and I wonder if a conversion to a more attacking role might suit him better and help get the best out of his abilities, instead of trying to turn him into a full-back or wing-back. Freeing him from those defensive responsibilities could turn him into a really interesting player, I think.
“In terms of his development, Marseille, at this moment in time, look good for European qualification and are playing good football, so there might be a case for extending that loan for another year, though we know that Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, like to get a close look at a player after they’ve been out on loan. So it could be that he’ll start pre-season with Arsenal, but then maybe go somewhere else.
“There’s obviously a talented player there, but I’m not sure making him someone who has to have defensive responsibilities is the best way to get the best out of him when he’s got so much to offer going forwards.
“Igor Tudor’s tactics with Marseille have been very direct, almost too direct at times, so it’s quite different from how Arsenal play. There’s a lot of emphasis on attacking and getting the ball out to the wings, and less on controlling games in the middle of the park. Naturally, that means Tavares has got a lot of attention, seen a lot of the ball, and got into a lot of good positions.
“Perhaps if he were to spend time in a different tactical set-up we could see a different side of his game and he could show that he’s got a bit more to offer defensively.”