Marquinhos has joined FC Nantes on loan for the coming campaign, with the Ligue 1 club confirming they don’t have an option to buy.

Arsenal winger Marquinhos will spend the season on loan in France, with FC Nantes confirming on Saturday that they’ve reached an agreement to sign him.

According to Nantes’ statement, Marquinhos will join them for the 2023/24 campaign without an option to buy, so he’ll return to north London next summer.

Previous reports had suggested that Marquinhos was set to join Olympiacos on loan, following his short-term spell with Norwich City last season.

But late last week, the news broke that Nantes could be looking to snatch the deal away from the Greek giants.

Now, the French side have completed their hijack of the transfer.

Marquinhos was with Mikel Arteta’s squad in pre-season, scoring in one of the early games against Watford.

But Fabio Vieira has generally been preferred as an alternative to Bukayo Saka on the right wing, and Reiss Nelson and Leandro Trossard can play backup to Gabriel Martinelli, so Marquinhos’ best chance of regular minutes is another loan.

As mentioned, the 20-year-old spent the second half of last season with Norwich City, but it was only a brief spell involving eight starts for the side.

After that loan, Marquinhos impressed at the u20 World Cup in late May, scoring once and assisting twice in his five games.

Marquinhos needs a little more consistency in his next loan, and he’ll hope Nantes can provide that.

After Folarin Balogun’s success in Ligue 1 last season and the subsequent transfer interest in him, it’s clear the league can provide a good opportunity for an Arsenal loanee.