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‘Best Left Back in EUROPE’ - Did Arsenal Mess Up Selling Lazio Sensation (Clip From Q & A Pod)
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After Nuno Tavares is statistically the best left back in Europe's top 5 leagues so far, Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese discuss whether or not Arsenal have made a mistake by selling him to Lazio.
The Italian Football Podcast patron Anthony sends in a question wondering what Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese think of the Portuguese wingback.
This is an extended clip from this weeks Q & A episode of The Italian Football Podcast available only to patrons on Patreon.com/TIFP
To send in your questions as well as listen to this & all other full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast (with no ads), go to Patreon.com/TIFP OR Spotify to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
Introduction to Italian Football Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Right.
Is Nuno Tavares the Best Left-Back in Serie A?
00:00:06
Speaker
Next question ah comes in from Anthony Sormani, who says, is Nuno Tavares the best left back in Serie A after his incredible start to the season with Lazio?
Tavares' Impressive Stats and Comparisons
00:00:20
Speaker
Well, without doubt, I think without doubt is the best left back this season on form this season. I would even go as far as to say that on form on form. Let me let me be clear with that. I'm not saying that he is the best left back in Europe. I'm saying that on form this season in in league play, Nuno Tavares is the best left back in all of Europe so far this season.
00:00:45
Speaker
I mean, look at the stats. The stats speak for themselves. Along with Bucayo Saka, Tavares has the most assists in Europe's top five leagues this season.
Tavares vs. Bukayo Saka: A Positional Analysis
00:00:54
Speaker
And we're recording this before Lazio play against Como, so he could even be outright first after offer that game, when when you guys are listening to this. And he has seven assists this season in Serie A, which is the the most assists in Serie A, of course. And you've got to remember, he's a left-back. But Cleo Saka is ah is ah an outside winger, he's an outside forward.
Tavares' Offensive Prowess in Serie A
00:01:17
Speaker
And Tavares is a left-back and he has the the joint most assists in Europe, which is astonishing. And you look at all of his his his attacking, his offensive play, he's averaging 2.1 successful dribbles a game. Only Rafael Liao and Florian Tovane are averaging more successful dribbles a game than is. He's averaging two key passes a game of all the left-backs in Europe,
00:01:48
Speaker
um Only doubt David Raum from Leipzig is averaging more than Tavares, from players playing a back four.
Defensive Improvements and System Fit
00:02:00
Speaker
Grimaldo also has averages more more ah key passes again than than Grimaldo from by Levakus and averages more passes again than Tavares but Levakus can play in a in a in a back three so he's a wingback and so it's you know it's not he's basically a winger really the way they play so that doesn't really count um and only six players in all of Serie A have more key passes again than than
00:02:29
Speaker
than Tavares, and that's Lukman, Pudasic, Dimarco, Koop miners, who hasn't really played many games, and Dennis Mann and Liao. um So again, most key passes from any full-back in or defender in Serie A, and only six players in Serie A have been fouled more than Tavares, which kind of shows like how many runs that he goes on.
Arsenal's Potential Regret Over Tavares
00:02:52
Speaker
He's averaging the third most crosses in Serie A this season behind Dimarco and Aaron Martine.
00:02:59
Speaker
And yeah, so those are the stats. They show you know how incredible he has been. I think he's been incredible. He's a force of nature down that left-hand side, isn't he? When he when goes on those runs, those end-to-end runs, he's got so much pace. He's physically so powerful. He's a great crosser. He's got a great long shot shot on him. He hasn't scored yet, but he will score goals.
00:03:22
Speaker
um And he reminds me, I think I've said it before, I think he reminds me a little bit of of Teo Hernandez a little bit, you know, when he goes on those those runs forward. The only thing I want to add to everything you said is Antonio Conte is looking at him and he is nagging daily to Aurelio De Laurentiis saying, I want him at the latest in June. Nuno Tavares in a Conte system would be surreal, just absolutely unreal. I just, I look at Nuno Tavares and I look at everything he's got, everything he does, the age, everything he does, and I just see and Antonio Conte wing back, full back. That's all I see.
00:04:08
Speaker
like if If he has a good advisor, they are working on bringing him to Napoli as long as Antonio Conte is there, which we all know with Antonio Conte can mean at any minute he can leave. It doesn't matter if he wins titles, it doesn't matter but but if he stays at Napoli,
00:04:29
Speaker
they need to sign Nuno Tavares. He would be unbelievable. Defensively he needs to imp improve. I watched him at Arsenal and he was a bit of a horror show at Arsenal, defensively that is. Lazio, it's kind of difficult to judge him defensively Lazio, because just the way that they play, they they play kind of high up and and they don't really defend so much.
00:04:49
Speaker
um But I think he he definitely looks bit better defensively than Arsenal. but so ah yeah As an offensive force, i mean he's he's been incredible.
Future Prospects: Big Teams' Interest in Tavares
00:05:01
Speaker
Will Arsenal regret selling him?
00:05:05
Speaker
ah just think that look It's a move that's worked out well for for for for Tavares, for Lazio. Arsenal are quite well-stocked at left-back, aren't they? They've got Palafuri, who they signed, they've got Timba, they've got Zinchenko, they've got three kind of really good quality options there. So there wasn't really a place for him at Arsenal, especially as he struggled at Nottingham Forest last season. So Arsenal will probably look at it and say no, but when you look at how much his value has gone up already,
00:05:34
Speaker
they'll probably be thinking, well, we've we've the met ah how much is Lazio signing for? It wasn't a great amount of money. I saw Lotito say that I wouldn't even accept a $70 million bid for him. i mean His value has skyrocketed already. I think Arsenal will be looking at that and thinking, god, if only we'd have loaned him to Lazio without an option, because there's an obligation to buy after a certain number of games, he's going to join Lazio. Arsenal are probably thinking, god, if we'd just loaned him out to Lazio this season, we'd have no option.
00:06:03
Speaker
You know, we could have solved him for a fortune at the end of the season. So I think that's what Arsenal will be regretting. But what I would say for sure is if he carries on playing as he is, a yes I'm sure that the big, big teams will will come in for him because he's looked like he's like I said at the start, he's looked like that the best player, the best left back in Serie A so far this season and and maybe like even on form the best in all of Europe so far.
00:06:28
Speaker
No, I agree with everything. and i And I just looking at where I think heex if he continues a season like this and if Antonio Conte continues to dominate that, like like as we expect them to do, we don't see Conte teams collapsing, um then they will have money. And I think the only thing they're missing from being the the most quintessential Conte team ever is an Una Tavares. I think that kind of a physical, gallabanting, but yet technical, wing-back, full-back that he can develop defensively and beat the ah beats discipline into him
00:07:12
Speaker
I think it's Nuna Tavares. The more I see of him, the more I just see Kante wingback, Kante wingback, especially given that Spinazzola and Mazzocchi haven't panned out. um so And even in a back four, I mean, what he's done this season in a back four is also with Di Lorenzo, you know, inverting. So, nah, I just see Antonio Kante player when I see him, honest to God.
00:07:37
Speaker
But that depends also on him continuing this form because you know, like you said it's It's
Surprise of the Season: Nuno Tavares
00:07:44
Speaker
been a fantastic start. Now he needs to maintain it. But yeah, on form, he's been absolutely fantastic. There's there's there's no, the stats say it, even though the one of the assists he got on the weekend was, well, it's not really an assist, whether you can drive the ball forward, the ball kind of passes it sideways and you know, but, but yeah, no, is's there's no doubt. like That's, you know, we've got to have it to him. He's been one of the, one of the surprises of the season for sure.