Earlier on Tuesday, we covered a claim from the French media that shed some light on Mikel Arteta’s decision to loan Nuno Tavares to Marseille.
The Arsenal defender was a major part of the Spaniard’s plans last season, mostly due to injuries, but the return of Kieran Tierney and addition of Oleksandr Zinchenko meant the move to the south of France was granted.
It was stated by L’Equipe that Tavares also often annoyed Arteta and his staff with his behaviour, with the newspaper pointing out he can be too sure of himself at times.
His poor performance against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday means he’s recently been in headlines for the wrong reasons, and the Arsenal loanee himself admits he can do a lot better, especially when it comes to defending.
Speaking to Prime Video in France, relayed by Maxi Foot, he said: “My flaw? I don’t control myself. I struggle to stay in place if we have a few minutes and need to win the game. I want to always run and lose all my stamina. When I keep going back and forth, I lose my defensive lucidity, but I need to make the effort.
“Am I too energetic? Yes, in most games. If we’re winning 2-1 for example, I want to score the third goal. I don’t like seeing the other team in our side of the pitch. Pushing us back. That’s my mentality, but sometimes that’s not possible. I need to stay back, but it’s against my nature.”
The defender is loaned to Marseille until the end of the season by Arsenal, who will welcome him back in the summer, as there is no option to buy in the deal.
