Arsenal confirm Nuno Tavares loan to Marseille

Arsenal have confirmed that Nuno Tavares has joined Ligue 1 side Marseille on a season-long loan deal.

The 22-year-old made 13 Premier League starts in the 2021-22 season and ended his debut year at the Emirates with a goal and two assists in 28 appearances in all tournaments.

However, Kieran Tierney's return to fitness and the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko means that Tavares is now Mikel Arteta's third-choice left-back.

The Portugal Under-21 international will therefore continue his development on loan at Marseille, who do not have an option to buy included in the deal.

Atalanta BC were initially in talks to sign Tavares, but the Serie A club wanted an option to make the left-back's deal permanent, which Arsenal were not willing to sanction.

Tavares is under contract at Arsenal until the summer of 2025 with the option of a further year and follows Sead Kolasinac and Matteo Guendouzi to the Orange Velodrome from Arsenal.

Arsenal are still resisting interest from Marseille to sign William Saliba permanently, but the French club are said to be 'surprisingly optimistic' of welcoming the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year back to the club.