Arsenal duo Nuno Tavares and Folarin Balogun provided Mikel Arteta with a timely reminder of their qualities in France on Sunday night.
The Gunners pair, who both left the Emirates on loan last week, started on opposing sides at the Stade Velodrome in the Ligue 1 clash between Marseille and Reims.
The hosts were under pressure to open their 2022-23 domestic campaign with a positive result after a poor pre-season showing left new manager Igor Tudor - the successor to Jorge Sampaoli - already facing jeers from fans before kick-off.
And Tavares certainly helped them achieve that aim, notching a terrific second goal as last year’s Ligue 1 runners-up ran out 4-1 winners on home soil.
Nuno Tavares has scored on his Ligue 1 debut for Marseille ⚽️
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 7, 2022
It's a superb strike from the Arsenal loanee 💥 pic.twitter.com/WpB9PrPvbf
Racing onto a lofted ball down the left channel, the Portuguese took a touch on his chest before cutting inside two defenders and smartly working the space for a low, arrowed right-footed shot that powered beyond the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.
Among those to celebrate the goal with Tavares was Matteo Guendouzi, who, like William Saliba, spent last season on loan at Marseille. But unlike Saliba, the midfielder completed a permanent switch in March.
Another Arsenal loanee gets on the scoresheet in France 👊
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 7, 2022
Folarin Balogun comes off the bench and scores just 20 minutes into his Reims debut ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/wWLwZvcklS
It was a chastening Reims debut for Balogun from a team perspective, but he too did at least trouble the scoresheet on his debut after coming off the bench.
The Arsenal academy graduate reduced the deficit to 3-1 with six minutes to go in southern France, taking advantage of Marseille’s failure to deal with a deep cross from the right flank as he leapt high to head home beyond Ruben Blanco.
Watch the videos above for footage of Arsenal loan duo Nuno Tavares and Folarin Balogun both scoring on their Ligue 1 debuts!
