Ethan Nwaneri celebrates scoring on his Marseille debut.placeholder image
Ethan Nwaneri celebrates scoring on his Marseille debut. | AFP via Getty Images
Mikel Arteta sanctioned a loan exit for Ethan Nwaneri this month and the winger has made an immediate impact in France.
The 18-year-old had been handed just 515 minutes of first team action across all competitions for the Gunners this season and was granted permission to go and improve by seeking game time elsewhere.
TeamTALK had claimed that both Crystal Palace and West Ham were eyeing a move for Nwaneri, who has 34 top flight appearances to his name, but the chance of Champions League football with Marseille proved the preferred option.
Arsenal loan star bags ‘stunning’ debut goal
Nwaneri was named in the starting XI by Roberto De Zerbi for his first Marseille match and scored the second goal in a 3-1 home win over Lens. The teenager picked up the ball in his own half before driving through the centre of the pitch and dodging between two Lens midfielders.
The Gunners youngster then struck the ball with his left foot, firing it in between two defenders and precisely into the bottom left corner of the goal, past a diving Robin Risser in the Lens goal for a stunning finish.
Speaking after the match, De Zerbi said: "Ethan will become a top player, I’m sure about that. You can see the quality, the impact… he’s so good, same for Quinten Timber."
The goal may have made for painful Arsenal watching as the Gunners lacked the dynamism to overcome Manchester United in a 3-2 defeat on Sunday. Nwaneri’s game time has been limited since the arrivals of Noni Madueke for £48.5 million and Eberechi Eze for £67 million last summer.
Mikel Arteta approves of Nwaneri loan to Marseille
Speaking about Nwaneri, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said this month: "Talented players need to have minutes and Ethan in this case wasn't having enough minutes. The last thing I want to do is cut his development because he is such a talent."
The Spaniard also labelled Marseille as the ‘right place’ for Nwaneri to go on loan. Arsenal reaped the benefits of sending William Saliba to the club for the 2021/22 season and Arteta is also an admirer of De Zerbi.
Arteta added: "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, the way he plays with young talent as well and he has a big track record about that.
"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."
In other news, Why Romeo Beckham supports Arsenal over Man Utd after David Beckham makes social media jibe.
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