Ethan Nwaneri should look to an Arsenal team-mate who's been in his shoes if he needs guidance during his troubled Marseille loan spell
Ethan Nwaneri
Ethan Nwaneri could benefit from his tough Marseille loan spell (Image: Getty Images)
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If Ethan Nwaneri needs any motivation following a difficult beginning to his Marseille loan stint, he only has to turn to Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard. The 18-year-old moved to the French club last month in search of the regular first-team action he'd been missing under Mikel Arteta.
Things kicked off promisingly with a goal on his winning debut against Lens. Since then, though, things have gone downhill quickly for Nwaneri, who was substituted at the interval in back-to-back matches against Rennes in the French Cup and during a 5-0 thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain, which turned out to be manager Roberto De Zerbi's final game in charge.
Nwaneri had arrived at a club where tensions between the existing squad and boss De Zerbi were already running high. According to reports in France, numerous players were unhappy with the manager's training methods and strict approach.
It appears player power prevailed as the Italian departed the club by mutual consent this week. Former Marseille and Newcastle centre-back Habib Beye is tipped to replace him.
The future for Nwaneri remains uncertain. However, at the very least, it will serve as a character-building experience for the young player, similar to Odegaard's loan periods during his time at Real Madrid.
The Norwegian was burdened by enormous expectations when he was signed by Real at just 16, and he faced some challenging times. Carlo Ancelotti, who was the manager at the time, has since openly confessed that he wasn't particularly interested in the teenager's arrival. His focus was more on established players who could deliver immediate results rather than future prospects like Odegaard.
He had five separate loan spells, and while his final one at Arsenal was undeniably successful, his early stints away from Madrid didn't go as planned. His first of two periods at Heerenveen in the Netherlands got off to a rocky start.
After joining in January 2017, he struggled to make a significant impact in his first half-season at the club. Nevertheless, having advocated for the move himself, he fought to make his stay in the Netherlands a success, which included a period at Vitesse Arnhem.
Real Madrid's Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard warm up before the Spanish League 2014/15 match between Real Madrid and Almeria, at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Martin Odegaard had some difficult loan spells during his time at Real Madrid(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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In the summer of 2017, he told Norwegian TV: "It was my decision, but Real Madrid made all the arrangements for it to happen. It was my choice, because I wanted to play more.
"It was important for me to be playing at the top level. If I hadn't done it, I would have stayed in Madrid, where the daily training sessions were the best part for me. At the end of the season, it was agreed that I should stay another year here [at Heerenveen].
"I feel like I've made the right decision. I've joined a club which suits me, has a great history and promotes the development of young players."
Given that Odegaard has been something of a mentor to Nwaneri, those words ought to resonate with the youngster as he attempts to establish himself in France.
Ethan Nwaneri
All is not well behind the scenes at Nwaneri's new club(Image: Getty Images)
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Odegaard's manager at Stromsgodset, David Nielsen, has emphasised the significance of those early loan moves, despite how difficult they proved for the player. He told Sky Sports last year: "What you have to remember is that even those loan spells were not that successful in the beginning, and he was struggling in the national team too.
"So that was another knock. He's a Real Madrid player, he goes on loan to Holland, it doesn't go as planned, twice, and it's only the third time, with Vitesse, that he starts producing."
While things didn't pan out for Odegaard in Madrid, he did leave his mark in Spain during a stint at Real Sociedad before moving to Arsenal in 2021. He is now arguably Arteta's most crucial player.
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