When it was decided in January that Arsenal would loan Ethan Nwaneri out for the remainder of the 2025/26 season, manager Roberto De Zerbi was one of the key reasons he went to Marseille. The Italian, however, was then sacked in early February.
Nwaneri had made a pretty positive start to life in France, earning plenty of praise as he scored just 13 minutes into his debut, as his side picked up a 3-1 Ligue 1 victory over RC Lens. He would play just four times under De Zerbi before seeing his head coach depart.
Since then, Habib Beye has taken charge of Marseille. In that time, the Arsenal loanee has played five times for his new boss. Here's what the local media have been saying about the Englishman after his latest outing.
Nwaneri Scores in Defeat vs Lille
Marseille took on Lille in their latest Ligue 1 fixture. Having failed to start any of his three league appearances under Beye – playing a total of just 47 minutes – Nwaneri was handed the chance to get some good minutes this weekend.
While he didn't start, an injury to Mason Greenwood meant that the Arsenal youngster came on after just 17 minutes. The good news is that Nwaneri appeared to grab his opportunity, as he opened the scoring, arriving on the penalty spot to turn in a low cross shortly before the half-time break.
This wasn't enough to get Marseille a win. Lille levelled the scores in the second half, and then Nwaneri was brought off with 75 minutes on the clock. He was then forced to watch on from the bench as former Gunner Olivier Giroud won the game late on as he made it 2-1 in the 86th minute.
According to the stats, Nwaneri's output looked positive. He had a total of 22 out of 23 attempted passes (96%), with 18 out of 18 coming in the opposition half. He also had two shots in total, and managed three recoveries. Beyond that, he did lose the ball 11 times and had only one successful dribble out of five attempted, but still managed a 7.2 SofaScore rating – the second-best score amongst Marseille players.
He also recently played 45 minutes in the Coupe de France against Toulouse, but may have hurt his chances of getting more minutes under Beye, as he missed the crucial penalty in the shoot-out.
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Nwaneri's Marseille Efforts Fail to Impress the Local Press
ethan nwaneri
Unfortunately for Nwaneri, it seems as though the local press weren't particularly impressed with his efforts. La Provence acknowledged the importance of his goal, but felt he could have done more, saying: "He deserves credit for opening the scoring after coming on for Greenwood, but didn't have much influence on the rest of the game. Beye substituted him, bringing on Traore, who was virtually invisible."
GFNF had a similar view on things, praising his finish as they wrote: "The Englishman met it [the cross] with a lovely cushioned finish on the volley to open the scoring just before the break." They then handed him a 5/10 mark, adding:
"The Englishman came on after Greenwood's concussion injury and managed to find his second goal in OM colours this season
"He gradually felt his way into the game and his late run was smart and the finish on the half volley was exceptional. He did however, regress in the second period, losing the ball on several occasions when OM were looking to break quickly. Habib Beye then substituted Nwaneri in the 75th minute for Junior Hamad Traore."
Foot Mercato echoed more of the same, noting: "Greenwood, brought down by the Lille player, ultimately had to leave the field and was replaced by Nwaneri in the 18th minute.
"He was a bit sloppy on his first touches, but he finally broke the deadlock by perfectly converting a cross from Paixao. Less prominent as the minutes ticked by, he was eventually called back to the bench."