Arsenal loanee leads Serie A in assists | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares has made a fast start to life at Lazio, assisting five goals in his first five games with the club.

TURIN, ITALY: Nuno Tavares of Lazio battles for possession with Valentino Lazaro of Torino during the Serie A match between Torino and SS Lazio at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on September 29, 2024. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Arsenal’s Nuno Tavares was highly praised after his debut for Lazio in September, in which he provided two assists against AC Milan, and the 24-year-old has gone on to show that wasn’t a one-off creative performance.

Tavares has since provided assists against Fiorentina, Torino, and Empoli to make it five in five games, with only Hellas Verona avoiding watching him complete an assist – though they lost 2-1 anyway.

TURIN, ITALY: Nuno Tavares of SS Lazio compete for the ball with Borna Sosa of Torino FC during the Serie match between Torino and Lazio at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on September 29, 2024. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)

It hasn’t all been plain sailing for the Arsenal man, as he missed a big chance against Verona and conceded a penalty against Fiorentina.

But he’s leading Serie A for assists, he’s second for expected assists, and he’s in the top 10 in the division for dribbles completed.

At least in a creative sense, he’s proving to be one of the best in the country right now.

ROME, ITALY: Nuno Tavares of SS Lazio in action during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico on August 31, 2024. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Though Tavares’ loan contains an obligation to buy, the clause depends on certain sporting conditions being met. Most likely, the clause will be active after a certain number of appearances.

With his current form, the expectation is that Tavares’ permanent move will go through and the player will join Lazio on a deal to June 2029.

Arsenal would then earn a fee of €9m (£7.6m) plus the potential profits from a sell-on clause of more than 25%.