Nuno Tavares criticised and Djed Spence praised after Marseille win
Nuno Tavares has been criticised after Marseille beat Rennes on Sunday, with Get French Football News handing the Arsenal loanee a 3/10 rating – with Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence receiving more praise in the battle of the North London full-backs.
It was Marseille who secured the three points to extend their lead over third-place Monaco to four points. Rennes meanwhile, sit fifth in the table.
It was potentially a game fans of Arsenal and Tottenham may have had an eye on. Both sides had a loanee at right-back on the night.
Spence impresses as Nuno Tavares struggles
Spence is enjoying a solid run in the Rennes side, starting their last five games in Ligue 1. Meanwhile, Tavares has been a regular at Stade Velodrome since his summer switch from Arsenal.
It was the Portuguese who got to celebrate the win. However, it seems that Get French Football News were much more impressed by Spence’s display.
Tavares was handed a 3/10 rating – no-one was rated lower – and was criticised for losing the ball so much on the night.
“Looked disjointed with plenty of unforced errors and countless lost possessions. Defence-wise, he offered too much freedom to the likes of Toko Ekambi and Truffert,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, the outlet were much kinder about Spence’s display, with the Spurs loanee getting a 6/10 score.
“The Tottenham loanee was a willing outlet going forward and kept Guendouzi as well as Clauss mostly quiet. A promising outing,” they also wrote.
As time goes on, it is getting harder to imagine Tavares getting a fresh chance at Arsenal. He has attracted a lot of attention after scoring six goals from full-back. However, it appears that he remains a work in progress.
The problem for the 23-year-old is that Arsenal have moved several steps forward this season.
Perhaps Mikel Arteta will have other plans for him. But it does feel that he will need a strong end to the campaign to stake any sort of claim ahead of his return to the Emirates in the summer.
