'The best': President delighted with £7.5m Arsenal deal, applauds 'cutting-edge scouting department'

It speaks volumes about the strength in depth at Mikel Arteta’s disposal that Arsenal felt comfortable letting go of a player who, since leaving the Emirates, has blossomed into one of Europe’s best.

Spending the last two seasons out on loan, The Gunners’ forgotten man found himself stuck behind Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior.

Arsenal now have the outstanding Riccardo Calafiori bombing on from left-back, while Jurrien Timber is back from injury and bringing his tactical flexibility to the table.

So, while Nuno Tavares has made a flying start to life in Serie A with Lazio, there will not be too many Arsenal fans ruing the decision they made to let the former Portugal Under 21 international pursue a fresh start over the summer.

With five assists in Italy’s top flight already – including one in each of his last three outings – no full-back in Europe’s major leagues is as productive as Nuno Tavares in a creative sense right now.

Lazio, then, will be delighted that they have already got an agreement in place to sign the 24-year-old for a bargain fee of just £7.5 million at the end of his loan spell.

Lazio president delighted with former Arsenal man Nuno Tavares

Biancocelesti president Claudio Lotito, however, is keen to point out that Tavares was not only signed because of his affordability. A player’s ability, he says, is the most important factor.

“I wouldn’t want to tie the signings only to economic value. Our choices are based on sporting value,” Lotito tells reporters. “But also on moral and character value.

“We have identified a series of players. Lazio has a cutting-edge scouting department, which screens all the players every day. There were some profiles, including Tavares, that we identified as the best for that role.

“For the attitude they have and the potential they have, they will do well.”

Arsenal agreed on a loan-to-buy deal with Lazio over the summer.

Tavares was valued at around £30 million by Arsenal back in 2022 but, after a difficult end to his spell at Marseille and an injury-ruined stint with Nottingham Forest, The Gunners were willing to accept a fee that is now starting to look like fantastic value for money from a Biancocelesti perspective.

“Tavares is a boy who has great potential. It is no coincidence that he was an Arsenal player,” Marco Baroni, the man who replaced former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri in the Lazio dugout, told a press conference in September.

“Beyond this, he is a boy for whom we now have to create a path.

Arsenal’s current left-back Riccardo Calafiori is exciting Luciano Spalletti

“He is a boy who has great potential. I am convinced that we will create the right fabric and structure for him to give his best and emerge, because he has incredible potential.”

With four wins from their first seven Serie A outings – and despite losing legendary striker Ciro Immobile to Besiktas over the summer – Lazio are currently commanding a Champions League position.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are unbeaten as things stand.

The aforementioned Riccardo Calafiori has thrived since moving in the other direction to Tavares and swapping Italy for England, Azzurri boss Luciano Spalletti arguing that the former Bologna man is all the better now for honing his talents in the Premier League.

“It’s fundamental,” Spalletti told a press conference this week. “What concerns us is international and European football, having players who know the atmosphere we breathe and players who can explain to us what we will find in front of us in these matches.

“Playing in teams and certain matches like Riccardo does is fundamental for us.”