Arsenal have confirmed that Ethan Nwaneri has joined Olympique de Marseille on loan until the end of the season.
Though Marseille themselves are still yet to announce it at the time of writing, Arsenal have officially confirmed that 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri has joined the Ligue 1 club on loan until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
“I think the talented young players that we have, they need minutes and in this case, Ethan wasn’t having enough minutes,” Arteta said on Friday.
“After having a discussion with him, with his father, the agent and the club, we decided that the best thing to do was to leave and go on loan.”
Roberto De Zerbi spoke to the media earlier this week and confirmed that both Nwaneri and fellow January signing Quinten Timber could make their debuts as soon as Saturday.
“I’m absolutely delighted they’ve signed for OM; they could even play as soon as Saturday,” De Zerbi said. “They’re two quality players, with experience for Timber and talent for Nwaneri.”
Unlike Nwaneri’s move, Quinten Timber’s transfer to Marseille has been officially confirmed by the club. It’s presumably just a matter of time until Nwaneri’s deal is announced by the French club as well.
Ryan Taylor reports for Football.London that Marseille will pay a guaranteed fee of €1.5m for Nwaneri’s loan, but the fee could rise as high as €4m.
That will depend on the 18-year-old’s appearance total. If he plays a lot, the fee will be less, but if he’s never selected then the fee could hit that €4m maximum.
Arsenal did the same thing with Fabio Vieira’s loan to FC Porto last season, and it seemed to work well as an incentive, with the 25-year-old playing 42 times.
Nwaneri arrived in Marseille on Wednesday, and he spoke briefly to the media to explain his transfer, saying: “[Marseille] is one of the best clubs in the world, with great fans.
“William Saliba told me that it is one of the best clubs in the world […] Roberto De Zerbi is one of the best managers in the world.”