Nuno Tavares explains upturn in form at Marseille

Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares says he is yet to think about his future beyond this season’s loan spell at Marseille but is ‘feeling good’ at the Ligue 1 club.

The 22-year-old endured a difficult first season with the north London side and was often criticized for his performances – notably hauled off after half an hour in the Gunners’ FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest.

But since moving to Marseille on loan, Tavares has reinvigorated his career with a string of fine performances in the south of France.

The Portuguese full-back is even pushing for a place in the national team ahead of the World Cup in Qatar next month after netting three times in Ligue 1 already this season.

With Arsenal having Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney on their books, it is unclear whether Tavares has any future at Arsenal and the player himself is trying not to look too far ahead.

Asked about his excellent start to life at Marseille, Tavares told La Provence: ‘I’m good here. I feel good here and it shows in the matches.

‘On top of that, Marseille feels very similar to Lisbon: the streets, the city, the climate, the sun.’

He continued: ‘I’m not thinking about the future. I live in the present moment, day by day. I have no thoughts [about my future], I’m just keeping my feet on the ground.’

On his prospects of going to the World Cup, he added: ‘Frankly, I don’t really think about it. My goal at the moment is just to do a good job for Marseille.’

Tavares has spoken about his Arsenal exit already this season, revealing that his agents tried to include a buy clause in his move to Marseille but were blocked by the north London club.

‘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 said.

‘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. 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.’

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