Ethan Nwaneri was once considered one of the brightest youngsters to ever come out of Arsenal’s academy but the teenager’s career in North London has been put in jeopardy after a disastrous loan at Marseille.
Nwaneri became the youngest player to ever feature in a Premier League match when he made his debut for the Gunners in 2022 and, after being nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award last season, big things were expected of the 19-year-old in this campaign.
But, going into January, Nwaneri had played just 166 minutes of league football for Arsenal, all from the bench, and the midfielder saw his momentum come to a screeching halt despite a breakout campaign last year.
Although Nwaneri was still highly-rated and thought of as an important squad player, Mikel Arteta preferred to trust his more experienced players with minutes and instead sought to find the youngster a loan for the rest of the season, which led to the winter move to Marseille.
And, while things started well in France, with Nwaneri scoring on his debut, he has since struggled for minutes and reports are now emerging of Marseille being less-than-convinced by the loanee’s time with the club.
With speculation also growing over Arsenal being open to Nwaneri’s sale this summer, the Hale End star may find his Gunners dream prematurely ending barring a dramatic reversal in the coming months.
Ethan Nwaneri: Marseille frustrated at ‘persistent nonchalance’ of Arsenal loanee
North London born and raised, Nwaneri has been at Arsenal since the age of eight and there was a belief that he may far eclipse the careers of academy graduates like Ashley Cole, Jack Wilshere and even teammate Bukayo Saka.
Therefore, a loan to Marseille was seen as the perfect move to join a club still pushing for trophies and titles but in a less-demanding environment, particularly with Arsenal desperate to ensure they finally secure their much-coveted Premier League title this year.
Although Nwaneri started his first four matches at the club, he was subbed off at half-time by previous manager Roberto De Zerbi during the 5-0 thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain, with five of his subsequent six appearances all coming from the bench.
De Zerbi was replaced by Habib Beye soon after the PSG loss and the new Marseille manager has been reluctant to field Nwaneri outside of odd cameos, with L’Equipe reporting that the player’s ‘persistent impression of nonchalance’ has not helped his case.
Beye told the media last week that Nwaneri still needs to adapt to Ligue 1’s ‘intensity’ and ‘must understand he has come to a very, very high-level club’, suggesting the England under-21 star has plenty more to work towards on and off the pitch.
Marseille had signed Nwaneri with the intention to play him regularly, as indicated by the loan deal becoming cheaper the more he plays, but, despite the costs, the youngster is now set to return to Arsenal in June to face an uncertain future.
Verdict: Nwaneri facing reluctant exit from Arsenal
It appears as though Nwaneri will have done nothing to convince Arteta that he is ready to feature more in their title-challenging side and, at best, Arsenal may look to loan him out again next season to a team with lesser ambitions.
However, Arsenal know they need to make sales to continue strengthening their squad this summer and Nwaneri’s status as an academy graduate means he counts as pure profit on the books, which could have significant implications if they receive bids close to his Expected Transfer Value (ETV) of €48.8 million.
The sale of their most exciting youngster would have been impossible to fathom 12 months ago but that appears to be the most likely reality for Nwaneri and teammate Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has endured a similar downfall.
While Arsenal still believe Nwaneri will one day become a star at the top level, their timelines simply don’t match and the club are aware they could reinvest money from his sale into a top talent rather than one with elite potential.
No formal decision is believed to have been made as of yet over the future of Nwaneri but it will take a strong end to the season with Marseille for the playmaker to save his career with the Gunners and avoid going down as the biggest ‘what if’ player in Arsenal’s recent history.
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