£8m Arsenal man expected to be sold this summer, Arteta has ‘no plans’ for him

Nuno Tavares is expected to be sold this summer, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta not including him in his plans.

That’s according to journalist Tom Canton, who shared the 23-year-old’s fate on The Gooner Talk YouTube channel.

Mikel Arteta will now have a much better idea of what his squad is going to look like when the Premier League starts next month.

He’s secured his three key targets and can now get to work on fitting them into his tactical system.

It’s easy to see where Declan Rice slots in, while Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber will be fighting for a starting role.

Arteta can now also start to let players leave the club who don’t have a future at the Emirates.

Several players have been left behind from their pre-season tour of the USA including Nicolas Pepe and Cedric Soares with their futures in doubt.

Another who looks set to be sold by Arsenal this summer is Nuno Tavares.

The £8m defender hasn’t returned for pre-season yet after being involved in the Under-21 European Championships.

However, it’s unlikely he’ll be rushing back given that he looks set to move on very soon.

Tavares set to be sold by Arsenal this summer

Asked if he thought Tavares would be sold, C a nton said: “Yes, there’s no plans for [Nuno] Tavares for next season as far as I’m aware.”

Arsenal have several decisions to make this summer when it comes to their first-team defenders.

Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney have also been linked with exits alongside Tavares.

If Tierney and Tavares were both sold, Arsenal might look a bit short at left-back.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to still be Mikel Arteta’s number-one choice in that position.

However, he struggled to stay fit all season and Tierney was asked to deputise in his absence.

Already in pre-season Arteta is planning for their exits by trialling Jakub Kiwior in that role.

Tavares leaving Arsenal doesn’t really change those plans considering he was out on loan last season.

His time at the club hasn’t quite gone to plan, but at 23, he’s still got plenty of time to develop into a very good defender elsewhere.