The Arsenal loanees have started the Ligue 1 season on fire!

Arsenal loanees Nuno Tavares and Folarin Balogun have started their respective campaigns out in Ligue 1 superbly.

Tavares joined Marseille on loan last month while Reims signed young forward Balogun on a temporary basis following the departure of long-time Newcastle United target Hugo Ekitike to Paris Saint-Germain.

Both were in need of regular first-team minutes this season for different reasons. Balogun desperately requires experience at a senior level and was never going to get enough minutes at Arsenal in 2022/23, while Tavares must mature if he’s to ever develop into a reliable squad member for Mikel Arteta. The Portuguese full-back has talent, that’s for sure, and he’s shown that in his opening two games for Marseille.

Arsenal loanees Nuno Tavares & Folarin Balogun have started the Ligue 1 campaign on fire!

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The energetic Tavares appeared to be a great fit for Igor Tudor’s favoured 3-4-2-1 system at Marseille after he succeeded Jorge Sampaoli as manager in the summer. The 22-year-old has operated as a left wing-back and his attacking proficiency has already been on full display.

Tavares scored on his debut for the French club against Balogun’s Reims with an excellent ‘weak’ footed strike from distance before he was the beneficiary of a savvy corner routine at Brest on Matchday 2.

The Arsenal loanee snuck in at the back post to give Marseille the lead before they were pegged back in the second half by a Pierre Lees-Melou screamer. Honestly, it’s well worth a watch.

Balogun, meanwhile, became the first Reims player since 1978 to score in their opening two Ligue 1 games on Sunday. The young forward was hugely influential as Reims went raced into a 2-0 lead against Clermont Foot – winning a penalty before scoring from the spot himself – but his side then collapsed in the second period and eventually lost 4-2.

The week prior, Balogun came off the bench and scored a late consolation in Reims’s 4-1 defeat at Marseille.

It’s a brilliant start for the pair, who’ll eventually want to return to north London and cement themselves in Arteta’s long-term plans.