Arsenal now faces an incredibly awkward Ethan Nwaneri conversation

Arsenal are fully aware that they have a supreme talent on their hands in Ethan Nwaneri. In September 2022, he was introduced as a late substitute in a 3–0 Premier League win over Brentford. In doing so, at the age of only 15 years and 181 days, he. became the youngest man to appear in a top-level English football match, surpassing Derek Forster’s record set in 1964 by three days.

Mikel Arteta was widely criticized for the decision, including from Talk Sport’s Jason Cundy, who branded the manager “indulgent” and called the decision “ridiculous” and “irresponsible”. Well, in the long term Arteta has been vindicated, with Nwaneri’s talent clearly on display, believing there is a path for him into Arsenal’s first team, so much so that he signed a new five-year contract last summer.

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However, the first half of this campaign did not go as planned for the teenager. Nwaneri spent many minutes on the right wing last season, replacing the sidelined Bukayo Saka. Now, however, Arteta sees him as a central option, but the arrival of Eberechi Eze has demoted him to third choice, behind new signing as well as club captain Martin Degaard.

As such, Nwaneri has only played 515 minutes of action for the Gunners this season, with his only starts coming in cup competitions against Port Vale, Brighton, Portsmouth and Slavia Prague.

By the time the January transfer window opened, it was decided that a loan would be best for his development, but only the right loan. Many clubs, including Bournemouth, carried out an investigation, but it was postponed. After careful consideration, Arsenal thought they had found the perfect loan for their teenage star, but that might not be the case.

Why Ethan Nwaneri’s loan is already going bad

On Wednesday morning, it was confirmed that Roberto De Zerbi had left Olympique Marseille by mutual agreement. This follows Phocens’ emphatic defeat in the Classic on Sunday evening, beaten 5-0 by fierce rivals Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.

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But tensions between De Zerbi and the OM hierarchy had been increasing for a while. The Olympians crashed out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion, crushed 3-0 by Club Brugge on the final day, being denied a place in the top 24 on goal difference, thanks to goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s historic header in the 98th minute for Benfica.

Marseille are through to the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France and sit fourth in Ligue 1, so they have plenty to play for, but De Zerbi will not be at the helm when Strasbourg travel to the Stade Vélodrome on Saturday. This could be bad news for Nwaneri, who had had a remarkable start to life in France.

Marseille statistics from Ethan Nwaneri

Nwaneri scored just 13 minutes into his Ligue 1 debut, slotting calmly into the far corner as Marseille demolished second-placed Lens 3-1 at home last month. The statistics support the zeitgeist that the Englishman thrived on the French Riviera, shooting, creating chances and registering plenty of touches.

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De Zerbi’s ultra-offensive, high-intensity style was one of the main reasons why Arsenal believed Marseille was the best place for the teenager’s development. The Italian’s departure is therefore far from ideal. Nonetheless, based on what he has shown in the OM jersey so far, whoever replaces De Zerbi would be crazy not to keep Nwaneri in the team, even if that uncertainty is far from helpful.

Following Mikel Merino’s injury, there has been speculation that Arsenal should recall Nwaneri. However, it was widely reported that there was no clause in the deal that would allow them to do so, and the youngster should still be able to develop in France.

This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com as Arsenal now face an incredibly awkward conversation with Ethan Nwaneri.