Arsenal starlet Ethan Nwaneri has joined Marseille on loan for the remainder of the season, after West Ham missed out on the chance to sign him.
Nwaneri hasn’t got as many minutes as he would have liked for the Gunners this season, so Mikel Arteta agreed to let him link up with Roberto De Zerbi at Marseille.
Before his move to the Ligue 1 outfit, Nwaneri was heavily linked with West Ham, but a move to east London never materialised in the end for the teenager.
The 18-year-old Arsenal star would have been an exceptional addition for West Ham in the January transfer window.
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He’s so good that it’s fair to argue he should have been given more minutes by Arteta this season.
Now he has the chance to prove his worth with Marseille.
Why Arsenal refused to send Ethan Nwaneri to West Ham on loan
The 18-year-old clearly has an extremely exciting future in the game.
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His loan move to Marseille is a big one for someone so young. De Zerbi’s side are currently sitting in third spot in the table eight points adrift of league leaders Lens.
Marseille also have a real chance of qualifying for the Champions League playoffs.
He’s clearly ready to make a difference at the very highest level, which makes the fact that West Ham missed out on him tough to swallow for their fans.
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When speaking on talkSPORT, Alex Crook shared the reason why Nwaneri joined Marseille instead of West Ham this month.
Crook said: “Yeah, there has been Premier League interest, but I think Arsenal preferred to send him abroad.
“West Ham had an offer rejected earlier in the window to sign him on loan and maybe they felt like going to play for Roberto De Zerbi and play Champions League football in the second half of the season was a better option than joining a relegation fight.“
Nwaneri and Arsenal’s rejection of West Ham is a sign of the times
Nwaneri, 18, has already been described as ‘world-class’ (Daily Mail).
He would have taken the Hammers to another level entirely.
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The fact that West Ham are embroiled in a relegation battle effectively stopped them from signing one of the best young talents in the world.
However, it’s entirely fair to suggest that the Hammers’ style of football was off-putting to Arsenal and Nwaneri as well.
If you want to attract the world’s best talents, you need to have have something very exciting on offer.
As things stand right now, it’s very clear to see that there isn’t much excitement around the London Stadium.
West Ham never had a chance of signing Ethan Nwaneri, due to the position they’re currently in and that is a seriously harsh reality check for their fans.
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