Arsenal announce their first signing of the summer by sealing £7m deal for Benfica’s Nuno Tavares 

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of former Benfica left-back Nuno Tavares in a £6.8million deal. 

The deal, which will see the Gunners pay an additional £1.5million in add-ons, is Mikel Arteta’s first signing of the summer as the north Londoners face a first season without European football for a quarter of a century. 

Tavares will wear the number 20 shirt at Arsenal and will act as competition for Kieran Tierney on the left-side of the Gunners defence. He will link up with his team-mates for pre-season when he completes a period of isolation after travelling from Portugal. 

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta told the club’s official website: ‘We welcome Nuno to the club. He is a young player with great promise who has developed very well with Benfica in recent seasons and has also shown his quality by being part of Portugal Under-21s. 

‘Nuno’s arrival will give the squad extra strength and options in defence, particularly with this energy on the left side of the pitch. 

‘We look forward to Nuno’s arrival soon, his integration into the Arsenal family and playing in front of our fantastic supporters.’ 

Sportsmail revealed this week that Real Sociedad tried to hijack the move and Arsenal technical director Edu Gaspar confirmed that the 21-year-old was wanted by several top clubs across Europe. 

Edu said: ‘Nuno is a talented young player who was wanted by a number of clubs across Europe. He will provide strong back-up in the left-back position. 

‘We look forward to him growing and developing with us and becoming an important member of the first-team squad.’

More to follow.