Nuno Tavares has taken a fresh swipe at Arsenal for their decision not to include a buy option clause in his loan move to Olympia Ur Marseille.

The Portuguese left-back is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest for the season, marking his second consecutive loan spell away from Arsenal.

Previously, he had a stint with Ligue 1’s Olympia Ur Marseille, where he enjoyed regular playing time. Tavares had expressed his desire to remain in France.

Despite Marseille’s interest in including a buy option in the deal, Arsenal declined to agree to it. Tavares had also urged Arsenal to consider adding the clause, allowing him to leave the Emirates at the end of his loan spell.

However, Arsenal did not comply with his request, and Tavares continues to struggle for playing time despite being under the management of two different managers at Nottingham Forest.

Speaking on his time in France again, he told L’Equipe:

“In Marseille, I was happy. I felt a bit like I was in Lisbon. The streets, the people, certain places: in many ways, the two cities are similar and I loved Marseille. The stadium is prettier but the atmosphere is even stronger, more intense at the Velodrome.

“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. 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.”

Just Arsenal Opinion

Tavares has not been good enough and we truly should have added that buy option in the agreement with OM, because he will not fetch us a good fee now.