Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares has revealed that he wanted the option to join loan club Marseille permanently, but the Gunners refused.
The defender, who moved to north London last summer, has been sent to spend the season in Ligue 1 after a positive start at Arsenal quickly turned sour after a string of poor performances.
The loan move appears to have paid off almost immediately, with Tavares scoring three goals in four games from left-back and the 22-year-old had hoped to join the club permanently.
"At Arsenal, I do not know if it was a problem of competition with Kieran Tierney, but for me that’s not even the point," Tavares told RMC Sport.
"I came to Marseille to finally be able to play in my position. When signing with OM, I wanted to have an option to buy, but Arsenal refused. With my agents, we always wanted this purchase option, but Arsenal didn't.
"Now I'm at OM, and with or without an option, I'm happy. At Arsenal, I would have probably only played in the cup [FA Cup and EFL Cup].
"I came to Marseille to play in my position, in the Champions League, in the league and in the cup [competition]. Marseille gave me this opportunity."
