Marseille have signed Ethan Nwaneri on loan until the end of the season.
football.london understands that Arsenal were initially reluctant to offload the 18-year-old midfielder until the French giants entered the race for his signature. Nwaneri had attracted interest from a raft of clubs, including Crystal Palace, Fulham, Bournemouth and West Ham, who had a loan proposal politely rejected earlier this month.
It's understood that Borussia Dortmund were also keen. However, Roberto De Zerbi and Mikel Arteta, who are believed to have spoken directly about the teenager, understand that they share many similar footballing principles.
With a number of English players in the Marseille squad too, Arsenal concluded that the Ligue 1 outfit were capable of assisting Nwaneri's development – on and off the field.
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football.london understands that, during negotiations, the French giants made it clear that they would be prepared to pay a substantial loan fee, which was thought to be around £2million – subject to appearance and performance-based criteria.
Despite having offloaded Nwaneri, it's understood that he remains incredibly highly rated by the club and there's still huge faith he will eventually become a regular at the Emirates Stadium.
Nwaneri's exit is the second deal Arsenal have completed this window. Youngster Louie Copley joined League Two side Crawley Town on loan until the end of the season at the beginning of the window.
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