Forgotten Arsenal player who was banished 'after annoying Mikel Arteta' set to return to squad

It has now been confirmed that Nuno Tavares will be returning to Arsenal once his loan deal has expired at Nottingham Forest.

Tavares has struggled for game time this season, only making eight Premier League appearances for a struggling Forest side with only five starts.

The Arsenal loanee did suffer an injury earlier in the season, but only missed five games making it hard to argue his lack of football was due to fitness issues.

The Portuguese left-back was signed by Mikel Arteta from Benfica in the summer of 2021 and made 22 Premier League appearances but he struggled defensively.

French outlet L'Equipe claimed that the Spaniard and his coaching staff were 'often annoyed with his behaviour' hence the decision to allow him to depart on loan in recent seasons.

Tavares was even excluded from the first-team squad last summer before his move to Forest was sealed.

Nicolas Pepe and Albert Sambi Lokonga were also among those 'banished', with a video of them training separately surfacing on social media last August.

This isn't the first time Tavares has been in this situation as he struggled with disciplinary issues while at loan at Marseille.

Tavares reportedly 'annoyed the staff with his efforts' whilst out on loan, and as he was unable to consistently follow instructions during the 22/23 season.

Nuno Tavares- Getty

Ivor Tudor told L'Equipe in the same month that a player had been sent back to the dressing room during one of the first team's training sessions due to a lack of effort, with the same outlet later claiming (via Goal) that Tavares was the player in question.

Forest did have a buy option on Tavares but have opted against bringing the Portuguese full-back with the club still battling FFP after they received a four-point deduction earlier in the year for breaching the guidelines.

Tavares is now set to return to Arsenal's pre-season this summer.