Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares is thought to be edging closer to the exit door just 12 months after signing for the club, though any move is likely to be a temporary one.
The young wing-back has endured a difficult debut season in North London that has seen him suffer two humiliating substitutions inside the opening 45 minutes of games. He could now be on the verge of trying to revive a faltering career in the colours of French side Marseille.
The Ligue 1 outfit have a history of taking players off of Arsenal's hands, especially when it comes to loan spells. Two Gunners talents spent last term at the Stade Veledrome in Matteo Guendouzi and William Saliba. The former is expected to remain in the south of France on a permanent basis.
Arteta has earned himself a solid reputation when it comes to talent identification during his time as Arsenal boss. Of the six summer signings from last year, Tavares has undeniably struggled the most - but that is not to say that the former Benfica man is a lost cause.
The young Portuguese wing-back is by no means a bad player, there are clearly enough attributes within his game for him to succeed somewhere - but it looks increasingly like that somewhere will not be in North London for the time being.
According to recent reports, Tavares is attracting interest from abroad with Marseille having to beat Serie A outfit Atalanta to his signature. The Italians were actually the first to be linked with the defender, but French side Marseille have since edged in front in the race for his services.
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'Les Phocéens' clearly have a stellar working relationship with the Gunners given the amount of Arsenal players that have made the move to Marseille. As well as Guendouzi and Saliba, Sead Kolasinac terminated his Arsenal contract before also joining the French side last season.
The rate in which the two clubs do business together could work to Marseille's advantage as they try to take Tavares off the Gunners hands. It remains unclear whether the deal would have an option or obligation to buy clause inserted into the contract.
While that may seem premature, there have been question marks over whether Tavares still has Arteta's trust after the Gunners boss hooked him inside the opening 30 minutes against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup before doing something similar against Crystal Palace months later.
The substitution at Selhurst Park put Tavares in the firing line with plenty of criticism coming his way - Gunners legend Nigel Winterburn even suggested that the Portugal under-21 international doesn't know the basics of playing his position.
It must be said that Arteta has also waxed lyrical over the attitude of Tavares - offering strong hope that he has more time to turn the tide on his Arsenal career yet, even if he spends next season away from the club.
This clearly hasn't deterred Marseille, who are looking to add another struggling 21-year-old Arsenal star to their ranks - a rare Arteta error in the transfer market.
