Nuno Tavares says Arsenal blocked request to include buy clause after his move to Marseille as defender continues to impress in Ligue 1

Nuno Tavares has claimed Arsenal blocked his request to include a purchase clause in his loan deal with Marseille.

The 22-year-old failed to hit the ground running in his first season for the Gunners and joined the Ligue 1 side until the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

After completing a £8million switch from Benfica last summer, and was set to rival Kieran Tierney for the left-back spot at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta decided to allow the Portuguese full-back to leave for regular game time, however.

Tavares has revealed revealed he wanted the north London club to insert a purchase option in the deal to Marseille, however, he says Arsenal didn’t sanction it.

“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 told RMC Sport.

“I came to Marseille to finally be able to play in my position. When signing with Marseille, 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 Marseille, 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.”

Tavares has enjoyed a bright start to life at Marseille having been named in the starting XI for five out of the club’s six opening games of the campaign.

He has also netted three goals already, with his most recent coming in a 3-0 victory over Nice.

If he keeps impressing, the defender could find himself in and amongst the Arsenal set-up next season.