Marseille boss Habib Beye praised Ethan Nwaneri’s personality, despite the Arsenal loanee missing a vital penalty in Wednesday’s cup tie but benched him again this weekend for their 1-0 win over Toulouse.
Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri didn’t start Marseille’s Coupe de France quarter-final tie against Toulouse on Wednesday night, but the youngster was introduced at the half-time break with the scores level at 1-1.
Marseille took the lead not long after that, but they were pegged back to 2-2 just minutes later, with the game ultimately going to a penalty shootout.
With both teams missing one spot-kick but converting the rest, Nwaneri knew he had to score Marseille’s fifth kick to keep them in the competition, but he sent his effort over the bar.
Speaking after the game, Marseille boss Habib Beye admitted it was unfortunate that Nwaneri and Leo Balerdi had failed to score, but he respected their decision to take the kicks on.
“Unfortunately for Leo [Balerdi] and Ethan [Nwaneri], they missed,” Beye conceded. “It’s simply unfortunate that this technical skill that, at that moment in the game and at that moment in the competition, was not mastered.
“What I like is the personality of a player who decides to go for it. When we discussed it, we were very, very clear about the shooting order. And so, they went for it, and I respect that personality.
“I never judge a player who misses a penalty because you have to take the responsibility to step up.”
Nwaneri’s loan has already had some extreme ups and downs, despite being less than six weeks into it.
There have been highs, like his debut goal and his match-winning assist against Lyon at the weekend, but there have also been lows, like this cup exit and the impact of Roberto De Zerbi’s departure on his minutes.
This weekend, Nwaneri found himself back on the bench in the league as his side won 1-0 away to Toulouse. He has not started any of the four games since De Zerbi left the club after starting all three under the Italian. In fact, he has played just 46 minutes in Ligue 1 under Beye compared to 170 before.
These are all things Nwaneri will have to deal with as a professional footballer, so on the whole it’s a good thing he’s learning these lessons away from Arsenal. It just might not feel so good right now.