Arsenal flop makes Edu regret pre-agreed transfer clause there's no getting out of

Loaned-out Arsenal flop Nuno Tavares has shown Mikel Arteta what he is missing so far this season. The Portuguese is settling in at Lazio for his third temporary spell away from the Emirates Stadium, and he has already made a big impression on manager Marco Baroni.

Tavares got off to a flyer on his Serie A debut, assisting two goals in the space of four minutes as Lazio drew 2-2 with AC Milan. The 24-year-old has since gone on to set up goals in three consecutive matches.

The flurry of goal involvements has left Tavares at the top of the assist charts in Serie A with five in five games, ahead of big-name stars such as Rafael Leao, Marcus Thuram and Ademola Lookman – and he’s done it as an orthodox left-back.

No other defender in Italy’s top flight has notched more than two assists so far this season. Lazio, therefore, look to have bagged themselves a bargain thanks to the terms of their loan agreement with Arsenal.

The summer move, which was sanctioned by Arsenal sporting director Edu, will see Tavares join Lazio on a permanent basis for just £7million at the end of the season if certain conditions are met which, based on his lightning-fast start, seems inevitable.

Though Arteta favours more solidity at full-back than Tavares offers, the Gunners could still come to regret the format of the deal that saw him leave north London.

Providing he keeps up his current form, Tavares will be worth considerably more than £7m on the open market next summer, but Arsenal are locked into selling him at that price due to the obligation-to-buy clause agreed with Lazio.

Speaking in September, Baroni knew straight away he had a top talent on his hands. “Tavares is a player who possesses great potential,” he said. “No wonder he was an Arsenal player. We must now put him on the right path.

“He did very well against Milan, we were waiting for him because he had a small injury following his arrival. You can still see his great potential. I’m convinced that we’ll create the right fabric and structure for him to give his best and improve even further.”

Though Edu and Arteta may rue the missed chance to bank more money for Tavares, who Arsenal signed for £6.8m in 2021, the north Londoners are not short of options at left-back, where Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu can all fill in.