Ethan Nwaneri was an unused substitute for Marseille against FC Metz on Friday night, as his loan spell under new boss Habib Beye continues to underwhelm.
Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri was an unused substitute in Marseille’s home win over FC Metz on Friday, and he still hasn’t started a game for the Ligue 1 side under new manager Habib Beye.
Beye took charge of Marseille ahead of their match against Stade Brestois on February 20th, but in eight matchday squads since then he’s failed to name Nwaneri in the starting lineup on a single occasion.
The closest Nwaneri has come to a start is when he was introduced in the 18th minute of Marseille’s Ligue 1 clash with Lille. The Arsenal midfielder scored his team’s only goal of the game, but he was substituted in the 75th minute after less than an hour of action.
Even before he was appointed, Beye’s relationship with Nwaneri was already off to a bad start.
Beye was previously managing Stade Rennais, and Nwaneri made a bad challenge on Rennes’ Glen Kamara in the 22nd minute of their Coupe de France tie.
Many believed it should have been a red card, and Kamara subsequently spent four games out injured, but Nwaneri was only shown a yellow.
The then-Rennes boss Beye was clearly unhappy, and he said afterwards: “Kamara was having a good game until this attack from Nwaneri.”
So perhaps there wasn’t much goodwill between player and coach upon Beye’s arrival at Marseille, and Nwaneri clearly hasn’t yet convinced his new manager that he deserves a starting spot.
The one consolation for Arsenal is that they structured the loan deal so that they’d earn more money from it if Nwaneri plays less. Given he’s made four starts in two-and-a-half months, the Gunners look set to profit financially, if nothing else.
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