Arsenal and England U21 midfielder Ethan Nwaneri has signed for Ligue 1 side Marseille until the end of the season.
Earlier in the window, it was reported that both he and Arsenal were not keen on leaving the club on loan, subsequently rejecting an offer from West Ham.
However, Marseile came in with an offer on Tuesday, and after Mikel Arteta spoke to Roberto De Zerbi, all parties, including Nwaneri, decided that a straight loan would be the best move for his development.
Lack of minutes
Since having his breakout season in 2024/25 as a right winger, Nwaneri has since moved back towards a more traditional position of playing as an attacking midfielder.
Last season at right wing, he was able to get a lot of minutes because Bukayo Saka was injured until March, and there were no other options to put in that position. This year, he is competing with both Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze for that attacking midfielder position.
Up to now, he has only managed 165 minutes in the Premier League, all of them coming off the bench. Nwaneri has not played a minute in the Premier League since the North London Derby in November.
According to The Athletic, Arsenal felt that Marseille would be the best move for **Ethan Nwaneri**’s development for a few reasons.
Firstly, they are still playing in three competitions: Ligue 1, the French Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
Secondly, Mikel Arteta and Roberto De Zerbi have similar philosophies in terms of how they want to attack; this is part of the reason why Arteta pushed for the loan to France to happen.
Thirdly, they have had similar success in the past with loans to Marseille when William Saliba spent time on loan there.
Saliba was loaned out to Marseille for the 2021/22 season. He played in four different competitions that season (Ligue 1, French Cup, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League), making 52 appearances altogether.
He ended up being included in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year as well as winning Young Player of the Year, the first time a defender had done so since Mamadou Sakho in 2010/11.
The next season, he would return to Arsenal and begin to form an incredible defensive partnership with Gabriel, as the Gunners went on an incredible challenge for the Premier League title, just falling at the final hurdle.
In De Zerbi’s system, Marseille likes to play with two number 10s, which is Nwaneri’s preferred position.
It’s a role he hasn’t necessarily had much of a chance to work on at Arsenal, so a four-month loan to France could be massively beneficial for next season and beyond at Arsenal, when you suspect that he should get a much larger amount of game time if the loan goes to plan.
Speaking after Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Inter Milan, Mikel Arteta gave his thoughts on the potential loan move for Nwaneri.
“We certainly have to assess the situation.”
“Obviously, Ethan is not playing the minutes that he deserves and needs at his age,
"So we are going to sit down this week and address the situation and give everybody’s opinion.
“At the end, we will make the decision which we believe is the best for the player because we have a massive talent there and we really need to look after him."