Consistency, however, very much is.
And while Nuno Tavares’ flying start at Lazio may have the Premier League giants wondering if the penny has finally dropped, it is worth remembering that the all-action full-back exploded out of the blocks at Marseille too.
Tavares scored three goals in his first four Ligue 1 games during that Marseille loan spell in 2022/23 before regressing to the mean.
So was his dream debut in the sky blue of Lazio another false dawn? Or is a now-24-year-old Tavares finally on his way to realising the potential that earned him £8 million move to the Emirates Stadium in the first place.
Only time will tell, of course. But Tavares could hardly have made a better first impression.
Boulaye Dia of SS Lazio (c) celebrates with Nuno Tavares and Matteo Guendouzi (r) after scoring the goal of 2-1 during the Serie A football match b...
Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares shines on Lazio bow
Embarking upon his third loan spell across three different countries in three seasons, Tavares set up both Taty Castellanos and Boulaye Dia as Lazio turned the game around in the blinking of an eye at home to AC Milan on Saturday.
In the space of four minutes, Tavares produced more assists in league action than he had in the previous five seasons combined for Benfica, Arsenal, Marseille and Nottingham Forest.
Lazio – and Tavares – had not really laid a glove on Milan in the first 45 at the Stadio Olimpico.
But having received a proverbial rocket up the backside from new Biancocelesti coach Marco Baroni, a fizzing start to the second-half was a reminder of just how explosive Tavares, and Lazio as a whole, can be when at their best.
MORE ARSENAL STORIESNuno Tavares had to be launched a bit like the team,” Baroni tells the Lazio Style Channel. “The football we want to propose is this; dynamic football, with spirit of sacrifice and compactness.
“Nuno hadn’t played a full game since February but to a player like him I said; ‘Go on the pitch and have fun’.”
‘Fun’ is probably a fitting description of the way Tavares goes about his business. A neutral’s favourite, the Lisbon-born flyer can be a little chaotic, with more rough edges than a secondary schoolers first woodwork project.
But sand away the splinters, and Tavares could yet evolve into a highly-effective, attack-minded full-back.
“In training, you can see the quality of the players. Nuno can be devastating if he expresses his qualities,” adds Mattia Zaccagni, the Lazio left winger who hopes to form a telepathic understanding with Tavares down the flank.
“For us, he is fundamental.”
Reunited with Matteo Guendouzi again
Tavares might technically have joined Lazio on loan for the season, but it is highly unlikely that the former Portugal Under 21 international ever pulls on the red of Arsenal again.
There is an obligation-to-buy clause worth around £7.5 million in Tavares’ contract. One that, per Fabrizio Romano, will be triggered if certain conditions are met, with a five-year contract on the table in the Italian capital.
Arsenal signed Tavares back in 2021, when Mikel Arteta was still very much in the process of building a team capable of fighting for Premier League glory.
He has played only 28 games for the London giants in the last three years, while a chance to prove his worth elsewhere in the top-flight at Nottingham Forest was scuppered by injury.
But former Arsenal and Marseille team-mate Matteo Guendouzi – reunited again in Rome – is convinced that Tavares can still blossom into one of Europe’s elite widemen.
“I know Nuno Tavares. We played together at Marseille and he is a friend of mine,” Guendouzi tells the Lazio Style Channel. “When he called me and told me that Lazio were looking for him, I pushed to have him come.
“I know he is a great player and I think he can become one of the best full-backs in Italy. He has great qualities. I am 100 per cent sure of his qualities.
“I understand how the new coach wants to play, he asks us to be aggressive and wants to propose an offensive football, obviously it is not easy because we have started the season but I think we will all play a great season together.”
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