Marseille sign Arsenal’s Nwaneri on loan until end of season

Arsenal midfielder Ethan Nwaneri has completed a loan move to Marseille for the remainder of the season.

The 18-year-old made 12 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal this campaign, starting four matches but none in the Premier League. He scored once in the Carabao Cup and remained on the fringes of Mikel Arteta’s first-choice side.

Nwaneri signed a new long-term contract in the summer, committing his future to the club until 2030, but his pathway into the starting XI has been complicated by Arsenal’s recent recruitment.

The arrivals of Noni Madueke for £48.5 million and Eberechi Eze for £67 million have increased competition in the attacking midfield and wide areas.

The England Under-21 international will now spend the second half of the season with Marseille, who sit third in Ligue 1, eight points behind leaders Paris St-Germain.

Last season, Nwaneri featured predominantly on the right wing and scored nine goals in 37 appearances across all competitions, establishing himself as one of the most highly regarded young players in the country.

This season, however, opportunities have been limited. Madueke has been used as the primary deputy to Bukayo Saka, while Eze has operated as the preferred number 10 behind captain Martin Odegaard.

Head coach Mikel Arteta praised the departing forward in his press conference on Friday, claiming that Marseille is the right place for him.

He said: “The deal is quite close and we constantly have to monitor them and I think the talented players need to have minuted and Ethan in this case wasn’t having enough minutes and the last thing I want to do is cut his development because he is such a talent and someone that loves and breathes football, that’s his life, and after having a discussion with him and his father and agent, we decided the best thing to do is leave and go on loan and then we have to pick the right place.

“And understanding the experience we had there with Willy [William Saliba] and Roberto [De Zerbi] is there, and he is a really courageous manager in the way he plays and with the way he plays with young talent as well, and I think he fits the way they play with the qualities we want to see for Ethan.”

Increased competition at Arsenal

Arsenal are enjoying a strong campaign, holding a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League, winning all seven of their Champions League group matches, and taking a 3-2 advantage into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

The club’s focus on immediate success has been reflected in their transfer strategy. Alongside Madueke and Eze, Arsenal added Martin Zubimendi and striker Viktor Gyokeres as experienced additions aimed at delivering trophies in the short term.

That approach has seen Arteta rely heavily on established players. Odegaard and Zubimendi have been favoured in midfield, while Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie have been regular options at left-back. Hincapie brings title-winning experience from his time with Bayer Leverkusen, where he was part of their Bundesliga-winning side in 2023-24.

The competition has also affected fellow academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly. The 19-year-old impressed during last season’s injury crisis, making 42 appearances and featuring in both legs of Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final victory over Real Madrid.

Lewis-Skelly’s form earned him an England debut under Thomas Tuchel, where he scored against Albania and briefly emerged as a contender for the World Cup left-back role.

This season, however, he has started just nine of his 23 appearances, including only one league start, and has since dropped out of the England squad.

Breaking through and remaining established at a club competing at the top end of European football was always going to be difficult for Arsenal’s academy graduates.