The English giants bought the Portuguese left-back back in 2021 but he struggled to carve out a place in Mikel Arteta’s plans.
He has already been sent away from Emirates for loan spells and this summer Serie A outfit Lazio acquired his services on a season-long loan.
Tavares has shown his quality with eight assists in ten games already and Mendes insisted he can learn from the Gunners loan star.
The 24-year-old Gunner has received his first Portugal senior call-up and the Paris Saint-Germain man feels the Arsenal loanee has shown his quality this season.
“It is a pleasure to play with Nuno Tavares, he is a player with a lot of quality and he has been showing a lot of quality at Lazio”, Mendes told a press conference about the Arsenal out-on-loan star.
“He is my direct competitor but he is a player with a lot of qualities, if he is here it is because he has shown that.
“I like having team-mates I can learn from.
“It is good for me and for him.
“He has got eight assists in ten games, he is a quality option for Portugal.”
If Tavares is able to continue his current form at Lazio this season, the Arsenal loan star could become a permanent fixture at the Biancocelesti next summer.
