Signing Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City, it was clear Arsenal and Mikel Arteta wanted a new left-back at the Emirates.
Forced to play Nuno Tavares for the back end of the 2021-22 season following Kieran Tierney’s knee surgery, the Spanish manager decided the player wasn’t yet up to the standard he required in his team.
That’s why, once the Ukrainian had arrived, Arsenal struck a deal with Marseille to send their Portuguese defender there for the season, much like they did with William Saliba last year.
The hope was for Tavares to develop like the Frenchman did, and while he has scored three goals going forward, he has shown a lot of frailties in the defensive department, much like he did with the Gunners.
At fault for Rennes’ goal at the weekend, the Arsenal loanee is now the subject of criticism in France, with RMC Sport journalist Stéphane Guy giving his two cents on the player during their show, L’After Foot.
Relayed by Coeur Marseillais, he said: “We are finding the limits of Alexis Sanchez. He didn’t play, or little, there were reasons. He will shine here and there that will make us say things, but overall, he isn’t the striker that the fans imagined at OM.
“It’s like Tavares. We have seen in recent weeks the limits of this player. We have also seen his qualities, he has some, but if Arsenal are loaning him, it’s because they aren’t crazy.”
By that, he means that the Gunners knew what they were doing when they sent their player to the south of France, with Arteta having no plans to use him now that he has Zinchenko to work with.
