Nuno Tavares is set to follow in the footsteps of Matteo Guendouzi and William Saliba with a loan move to Marseille close to being completed.
The left-back moved to Arsenal last summer but has been unable to establish himself at the Emirates with some error-strewn performances hampering his ambitions. In order to further his development a move to the south of France is now on the cards.
Tavares will be far from the first Gunners star to move to the Stade Velodrome - and it will be on him to decide which course of action his permanent employers take this time next year. Guendouzi and Saliba both spent periods at Marseille, albeit for different reasons.
The former left under a cloud having angered Mikel Arteta with his antics on the pitch whilst Saliba has had to fight to prove his worth having endured three loan spells in his homeland since signing for Arsenal. Now it looks as if he will finally get an opportunity in north London after impressing at Marseille. Guendouzi meanwhile headed to the Ligue 1 club on loan with a purchase option being utilised by Marseille this summer.
Tavares will have to operate in an environment where much is expected, such is Marseille's standing in France. He will also play in the Champions League - a competition Arsenal will not be in - which will expose him to Europe's elite. Impressing in such scenarios will potentially prove to Arteta that the Portuguese defender can have a long-term future at the Emirates.
Last term he endured a horror evening at Crystal Palace, a game in which Arsenal lost 3-0, and was hooked at half-time. Arteta has previously challenged Tavares to overcome the difficult periods but insisted that difficult games are part of his learning curve.
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He said: "Throughout your career, you have to go through really difficult moments. He had some really good periods when he arrived at the club and was playing many more minutes than he was probably expecting. This is the development of any young player. You go through ups and downs and we're here to help him to make his career better."
Just weeks later, after an indifferent display against Manchester United, Arteta said: "We have to help him. He needs to go through these experiences to understand, OK what trigged that moment, when you go from here to there – and give him support. We know, I’ve said this many times, the bill that you have to pay with these players is that they have never experienced this."
