The forgotten Arsenal star frozen out by Mikel Arteta rivals Bukayo Saka, Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane and is happier than ever at the new club.
Nuno Tavares came from Arsenal's failure to help King after his loan move to Lazio in the summer.
Considered surplus to needs Mikel Arteta At the Emirates, the left-back is more than making his mark in Serie A.
It is the third consecutive season that the 24-year-old has been loaned by the gunners.
Tavares linked with Arsenal from Benfica in a £8 million offer in 2021, where he appeared in 28 games in all competitions in his inaugural campaign.
He initially wowed fans with his athleticism when coming on for the injured Kieran Tierney, but his performances soon began to slip.
The Portugal Under-21 international took a swipe after being sent off in the first half of Arsenal's FA Cup game. defeat in third round at Nottingham Forest, where he angrily threw his gloves to the ground, before blanking Arteta as he walked off the pitch.
Another poor performance in the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in April saw Tavares replaced again, this time at half-time.
And in footage from Amazon's 'All or Nothing' documentary series of Arsenal, Arteta was filmed shouting in his face in the dressing room at half-time.
With Arsenal chasing a top-four spot and drawing 1-1 at half-time, the Spaniard unleashed a heated X rant, where he stood directly in front of Tavares, who failed to close in the cross that led to Jarrod Bowen's equaliser.
Arteta shouted: “Do you want to play in the Champions League? Do you want to play in the fucking Champions League?”
The decision was then made to send the defender on loan to Marseille, with French media claiming that Arteta and his staff had stayed on. 'upset by his behavior'.
It was Tavares who had the last laugh at the time, as he featured in all six of Marseille's games in Europe's premier competition, while Arsenal were forced to play in the Europa League.
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A loan spell at Forest followed with the player now at Lazio, where he finally showed the talent that made Arsenal snap him up after registering an impressive five assists in the league.
No other Serie A player has provided more assists than the Arsenal loanee so far in the first seven games.
Only Gunners winger Bukayo Saka has more assists (seven) than Tavares in the top five European leagues this season.
The side's incredible start to the 2024/25 season leaves him level with Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, Lamine Yamal, Joao Neves and Alex Baena with five assists.
Having been an unused substitute in Lazio's first two Serie A matches, he has since become one of the club's key players, starting the last five matches to help the Stadio Olimpico team occupy fourth place in the table.
Lazio signed Tavares on loan with the obligation to convert his temporary stay into a permanent move for around £5-6m if certain conditions are still met.
And if he maintains his form, he will look like a bargain for Marco Baroni's side.
Having played for five different teams in as many years, Tavares has hinted that he wishes to remain in the Italian capital, insisting he is happier than ever.
he said O Jogo: “At Lazio I feel more and more at home. Fortunately, things are going well for me on a personal and collective level.
“I think we have risen to the challenge and we can only think about improving. We still have a long way to go but, for now, the balance is very positive.”
Tavares added: “I feel good seeing my teammates. It's good to have this understanding with them in this short space of time.
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“We can only get better. I'm very happy to be here.”
But despite Lazio's gain in Tavares, it is not Arsenal's loss, which has stopped having a flying full-back in the team.
Tavares hopes to continue impressing in his quest to earn a Portugal call-up for the November international break as he awaits his first call-up to the senior team.
