Arsenal loanee leads Europe’s top-5 leagues in assists | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares continued his excellent form with Lazio by providing another couple of assists against Genoa on Sunday.

ROME, ITALY: Nuno Tavares of SS Lazio in action during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Genoa at Stadio Olimpico on October 27, 2024. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)

Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares has made a fast start to the 2024/25 campaign in Serie A, and he underlined it again with two assists against Genoa over the weekend.

The first came from a typical driving run, with Tavares laying the ball off to Tijjani Noslin on the left-hand side. Noslin still had a lot to do, but after nutmegging one opponent he fired into the far corner for 1-0.

Tavares added his second assist in second-half injury time, beating a couple of players around the outside before crossing for Matias Vecino to head home.

ROME, ITALY: Nuno Tavares of SS Lazio in action during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and Genoa at Stadio Olimpico on October 27, 2024. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)

The assists helped to secure Lazio a 3-0 win, leaving the team sixth in the Serie A table. But on an individual note, they left Tavares on a total of seven assists for the season so far.

No player in Europe’s top-five leagues has more assists than that in 2024/25. Only one player can even match Tavares’ total, and it’s fellow Gunner Bukayo Saka.

The Lazio loanee has been key to his side’s successes, and they’re in real contention for a European qualification spot with his help. The gap to second place in the table is just two points.

TURIN, ITALY: Nuno Tavares of SS Lazio 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)

As a reminder, Tavares’ loan contains an obligation to buy. The clause depends on certain sporting conditions being met, most likely relating to his number of appearances.

On current form, the expectation is that Tavares will keep being picked, meaning his permanent move will go through and he’ll 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%.