Ethan Nwaneri is set to return to Arsenal this summer after concluding his Marseille loan spell on Sunday
Arsenal are set to receive extra cash from Marseille due to Ethan Nwaneri’s lack of minutes while on loan in France.
The two clubs shook hands on a six-month loan for the teenager during the winter transfer window but things have not gone to plan in Ligue 1 for the England U21 international.
The initial loan fee was worth £1.3 million (£1.5m), but penalty clauses centred around Nwaneri’s playing time were also tied into the agreement.
While the thresholds were kept confidential, it’s clear Nwaneri has not played nearly enough as Arsenal would have liked.
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In fact, he was an unused substitute in five of Marseille’s final six Ligue 1 matches even though the team was struggling under Habib Beye.
Beye questioned Nwaneri’s application in training in late April when pushed to explain why he was overlooking the attacking midfielder.
Mikel Arteta later said when quizzed on those comments from Beye: “I think that’s the coach’s opinion. He’s with him every single day and that’s it. He’s the one making the decision, he’s the one that sees and understands better what he’s doing.
“Ethan has to respond to that in the right way. It’s the same place that William Saliba was there, same club. The outcome? Let’s see.
“Maybe it’s the best thing that can happen for Ethan, for his career. Maybe, we don’t know.”
Arsenal are set to welcome the playmaker back to the club in the summer but there is a firm chance he could move onto pastures new.
Nwaneri’s loan got off to a flying start as he netted just 13 minutes into his debut against Lens, who eventually finished in second place.
Since arriving in January, he has played just 412 minutes from a possible 1710, scoring twice and producing one assist.
Arguably his biggest setback arrived just weeks after he signed at the Stade Velodrome, however, when OM parted company with Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian pushed hard to sign Nwaneri and also held talks with Mikel Arteta over the starlet’s development before beating a number of Premier League clubs to the loan.
Once De Zerbi left, things unfortunately continued to go downhill. Nwaneri also skied his penalty kick in Marseille’s Coupe de France quarter-final shootout defeat to Toulouse.
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