Arsenal loaned out Ethan Nwaneri to Marseille, and their manager, Roberto De Zerbi, has given a verdict on the Gunners loanee after his debut on Saturday
20:00, 25 Jan 2026
Roberto De Zerbi, head coach of Marseille
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Roberto De Zerbi, head coach of Marseille(Image: Franco Arland/Getty Images)
Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi has tipped Ethan Nwaneri for a bright future following his loan move from Arsenal. The Gunners confirmed earlier this week that Nwaneri had been loaned out to the Ligue 1 club for the rest of the season.
Nwaneri, 18, had struggled for regular minutes at Arsenal across the first half of the season, featuring 12 times across all competitions, including just six appearances in the Premier League.
It’s that lack of game time that influenced Arsenal and Mikel Arteta’s decision to allow Nwaneri to leave the club for the second half of the campaign to get more minutes under his belt.
Saturday night saw Nwaneri make his debut for Marseille just a day after completing a move to the French club, where he was included in the starting line-up by De Zerbi for the Ligue 1 clash against Lens.
Just 13 minutes into the game, Nwaneri was on the score sheet to put Marseille 2-0 up after an early goal from Amine Gouiri, with the latter going on to get a second in a 3-0 victory for De Zerbi and Co. at the Orange Velodrome.
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De Zerbi was asked about Nwaneri’s performance after he made an immediate impact following his loan from Arsenal.
“Ethan will become a top player, I’m sure about that,” De Zerbi said.
“You can see the quality, the impact. He’s so good, same for Quinten Timber.”
Arteta explained the reason why Arsenal sanctioned Nwaneri’s exit on a temporary basis until the end of the season, stating that the chance to get regular first-team football – albeit with a different club – would be essential to the 18-year-old’s development.
Ethan Nwaneri scored on his debut for Marseille
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Ethan Nwaneri scored on his debut for Marseille(Image: AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
“I think the talented young players that we have need minutes, and in this case, Ethan wasn’t having enough minutes, and the last thing that we want is to cut his development because he’s such a talent and someone who lives and breathes football; that’s his life,” Arteta said.
“After having a discussion with him, with his father, the agent and the club, we decided that the best thing to do was to leave and go on loan.
“Then we have to pick the right place, and having all the options, understand the experience that we had in Marseille as well with [William Saliba], the fact that Roberto [De Zerbi] is there and he’s an incredible developer of young talent, and he’s a really courageous manager in the way he plays with young talent as well.
“He has a big track record about that, and I think it fits the way of playing for the qualities that we want to see for Ethan. So it’s going to be a great experience for him.”
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