Leaving Arsenal for the next five months or so, Ismaël Bennacer will be spending his time trying to help Tours avoid relegation from Ligue 2 instead of playing in the Premier League club’s reserves.
Desperate for some first-team football since his move from Arles-Avignon back in 2015, the young midfielder was given the green light by the Gunners to play elsewhere temporarily in order to help him develop.
Having already made his first appearance for Tours, coming off the bench against Reims at the weekend, the 18-year-old Arsenal loanee is set to once again make a substitute appearance against Amiens on Tuesday evening.
Ahead of the game, the player explained how his transfer from Arsenal came about, relayed by La Nouvelle République in France.
He said: “The manager (Arsène Wenger) didn’t really want to loan me last summer, and advised me to wait six more months. Then, this winter, he’s the one who advised me to do it.”
With multiple English and Ligue 1 clubs making their interest known, Arsenal refused all of them due to their insistence ‘to include an option to buy’, according to Bennacer.
However, what really made him want to move to Tours in Ligue 2, a league he already knows from his time at Arles-Avignon, was the fact their manager, Fabien Mercadal, called him personally to let him know he wanted him.
Clearly protective of Bennacer and keen on ensuring his future is at Arsenal, making him sign a five-year deal with the Gunners in 2015, Wenger will be sure to keep an eye on his progression over the coming months.
