Arsenal loan watch: Nuno Tavares is the assist king, but Fabio Vieira struggles

While the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah left for reasonable fees in the summer window, seven others departed on loan for the 2024-25 campaign, to varying degrees of success so far.

Some are playing for their futures in North London, some are playing for permanent switches to their current temporary homes, while some are hoping to catch the attention of other teams ahead of a likely exit in 2025.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how Arsenal's seven loanees have performed in the early stages of the 2024-25 season.

Reiss Nelson - Fulham

Arsenal players who leave the club but still want to remain in London can often find a welcoming new home in Fulham, who now have as many as four ex-Gunners regularly featuring for the first team in the Premier League.

Joining Bernd Leno, Alex Iwobi and the aforementioned Smith Rowe at Craven Cottage, Reiss Nelson made the temporary switch to Marco Silva's side after a forgettable 2023-24 campaign, in which he was largely frozen out of the Arsenal squad after committing to a new contract.

The former England youth international has hit the ground running at Fulham, registering two goals and one assist in his first five appearances for the Cottagers, netting against Preston North End in the EFL Cup and Newcastle United in the top flight.

Nelson also set up Rodrigo Muniz's consolation in the weekend's 3-2 loss to Manchester City, but all four of his Premier League appearances for Fulham so far have come off the bench - his sole start came in the enthralling EFL Cup penalty shootout loss to Preston.

Adama Traore - who was wasteful to the extreme at the Etihad - has been keeping Nelson out of the Premier League starting lineup so far, but the Arsenal loanee is most certainly knocking on the door.

Fabio Vieira - Porto

One wonders whether Mikel Arteta regretted letting both Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira depart in the same window after Martin Odegaard suffered his serious ankle injury, but the Gunners have coped relatively fine without their skipper in the past few weeks.

Vieira was welcomed back to Porto with open arms two years after his permanent exit, but unlike Nelson, the Portuguese playmaker is yet to reignite his career in his homeland.

Indeed, Vieira has only made three substitute appearances for Porto so far - totalling just 54 minutes - having struggled with a muscular problem in his first few weeks back.

The 24-year-old has since come off the bench in Porto's last three games, including their thrilling 3-3 Europa League draw with Manchester United, but he is yet to move above Pepe or Galeno in the pecking order.

Nuno Tavares - Lazio

Some Gooners may remember Nuno Tavares's explosive full Premier League debut against Aston Villa in 2021, where the effervescent left-back deputised brilliantly for Kieran Tierney, but that display was not a sign of things to come.

Following a successful loan with Marseille and disappointing time at Nottingham Forest, Tavares moved to Lazio this summer, and the 24-year-old is proudly donning the label of assist king in Serie A, setting up more goals than any other player in the division.

Tavares has already provided five assists in as many top-flight matches for the Biancocelesti - one more than closest challengers Romelu Lukaku and Rafael Leao - registering two in a 2-2 draw with AC Milan before setting up strikes against Fiorentina, Torino and Empoli in the last three gameweeks.

The defender - who is playing as an out-and-out left-back rather than a wing-back this term - will stay at Lazio if certain conditions are met next summer, but if his early success is anything to go by, he is well on his way to earning a permanent contract.

Albert Sambi Lokonga - Sevilla

Following an eerily similar path to Tavares, midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga also arrived at Arsenal as an inexperienced player in 2021 and initially impressed in Arteta's system before failing to live up to his potential.

The former Crystal Palace and Luton Town loanee - who performed respectably for the relegated Hatters, it must be said - is now plying his trade at Sevilla, but a pair of hamstring injuries have restricted him to three appearances so far.

Lokonga did start back-to-back La Liga games against Mallorca (August 27) and Girona (September 1), playing the full 90 in the latter, but he then missed the rest of last month with a second hamstring problem.

However, the 24-year-old made his comeback as a second-half substitute in Sunday's 1-0 win over Real Betis in the Seville derby, and he will now endeavour to kick on once domestic football resumes.

Karl Hein - Real Valladolid

Karl Hein would have been expected to add to his one senior Arsenal appearance so far had he stayed this summer, as with Ramsdale leaving and Neto cup-tied, 16-year-old Jack Porter was thrust into the limelight for the EFL Cup third-round win over Bolton Wanderers.

However, after extending his Arsenal contract for another season, the 22-year-old followed Lokonga to La Liga by signing for Real Valladolid, where he immediately became their first-choice goalkeeper.

Hein kept a clean sheet on his debut in a 1-0 triumph over Espanyol, but he has since recorded just two shut-outs in eight matches while conceding 19 goals, including seven in one game against Barcelona.

In fact, no team in the division have shipped more goals than Real Valladolid's 19 this season, as Hein's side sit bottom but one in the La Liga table with just five points on the board.

Marquinhos - Fluminense

The true definition of a forgotten man, Marquinhos was promoted to the Arsenal first team quicker than expected in 2022 and initially justified Arteta's decision with a goal and assist in a Europa League win over FC Zurich.

The Brazilian winger could not threaten the established order of Arsenal wingers, though, and after underwhelming spells at Nantes and Norwich City, Marquinhos returned to his homeland with Fluminense in February.

The 21-year-old has enjoyed regular action in the past eight months with 25 appearances, although his output has been slightly disappointing, as he has only managed two goals and two assists for the South American giants in that time.

Marquinhos immediately forced his way into the first XI earlier this year - playing as both a right-back and right-winger - but his fortunes have taken a turn for the worse since the summer.

Indeed, the attacker has suffered from two hamstring injuries and has been an unused substitute in five of Fluminense's last six Brasileiro matches, and it is difficult to see him staying at the Emirates for much longer.

Charles Sagoe Jr - Shrewsbury Town

A surprise starter for Arsenal in an EFL Cup victory over Brentford last season, 20-year-old winger Charles Sagoe Jr is very much still on the fringes of the first team and joined Shrewsbury Town on loan for 2024-25 after a brief stint at Swansea City earlier this year.

Sagoe Jr has already made nine appearances for the League One side - five of which have come from the first whistle - but he is still waiting for his first goal or assist for the third-tier strugglers.

Furthermore, none of Sagoe Jr's nine games for Shrewsbury so far have ended in victory, and he was an unused substitute in the Shrews' only win of the season so far, a 3-0 beating of Leyton Orient in late August.