William Saliba was excellent during his loan to Marseille last season, as Mikel Arteta decided he still needed to prove himself elsewhere. The defender had been crucial for Jorge Sampaoli’s side and started every Ligue 1 match he was available for
He had some noticeable performances, and none more so than his clean sheet against PSG, as he stopped arguably the most dangerous front three in world football in, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, from scoring.
This was the match that highlighted the success of Saliba’s loan move. The same has arguably been repeated for Nuno Tavares, who also put in a solid display against the same side.
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Tavares was unable to keep a clean sheet in Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-0 victory over Marseille. But, the Portugal defender put in a good display and was a constant threat for his team down the left-hand side.
The youngster has been sensational for Marseille since making the season-long loan move from Arsenal in the summer transfer window. The defender has been given the necessary freedom to thrive in the early months of the campaign.
His performances have been so impressive that Marseille have awarded him with the player of the month for August. Despite being in a more defensive wing-back role, Tavares has still managed to score three goals in five games, which highlighted his threat going forward.
Tavares had large spells where he played in the Premier League in the previous campaign, however, he was always regarded as a back-up to Kieran Tierney as despite the youngster hitting good form during a point in the season, he was unable to progress due to the Scotsman taking his place whenever he was available for selection.
There was a stage during the early part of last season where his performances had been so good that the supporters were calling for him to take Tierney’s spot in Arteta’s starting XI. His energy up and down the left-hand side was a breath of fresh air for Arsenal, and his presence had a contagious feel amongst the squad.
However, towards the end of the campaign, the youngster’s form took a major dip, and his defensive frailties started to become exposed. It showed that he has a lot of learning before starting as a full-back for a team competing for a Champions League spot in the Premier League.
But, at Marseille, he can showcase his progression in the Champions League and come back a better player with good performances in Ligue 1, similar to William Saliba in the previous campaign.
And now, with a good performance against PSG to add his loan CV, this could increase his price in the summer if Arsenal are to sell him. The Gunners were said to have valued Tavares at more than three times what they bought him for. A €30million (£25.5million) valuation has been set on the full-back, and the club prefer a dry loan if he is to leave only temporarily, which is why he ended up at Marseille.
With Arsenal demanding more than £20million for his services, these demands are likely to be met in the summer if Tavares continues his impressive form after the solid performance against PSG.
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