Arsenal to profit as 19yo ends loan as unused sub

Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri ended his spell with Ligue 1 club Marseille with another game as an unused substitute, and he’ll now turn his attentions back to his parent club.

Ethan Nwaneri was named on the bench against Stade Rennais on Sunday, and he was left there by Marseille boss Habib Beye for the full 90 minutes for another game as an unused substitute.

It was the seventh time in 16 Ligue 1 fixtures that Nwaneri hasn’t been used at all, and the fourth game in a row that he’s been left out. Of the other nine games, the Arsenal youngster made three starts and six substitute appearances, scoring two goals and assisting one.

The appointment of Beye was definitely the turning point, with all of Nwaneri’s four starts for Marseille in all competitions occurring before the current manager was appointed.

Nwaneri’s loan is now at an end, and everyone at Arsenal will be hoping the teenager has learned something from his experience, despite his limited minutes on the field of play.

One positive for Arsenal is that Nwaneri’s loan fee was variable based on appearances, with Marseille owing more money the less they played him.

The initial guaranteed fee was €1.5m, but it could reportedly rise as high as €4m. Given Nwaneri played less than a quarter of the minutes available to him, the expectation is that a large portion of that €4m maximum will be heading Arsenal’s way.

The exact amount Arsenal will receive is undisclosed, and likely to remain that way.

Nwaneri’s club season may be over, but he’ll be keeping an eye on parent club Arsenal ahead of these final few pivotal games of the club season.

The Gunners are two wins away from a potential Premier League title, and one win away from Champions League success, so there’s a lot to play for in this final fortnight.

If Arsenal do win anything this season, Nwaneri would have every right to be there celebrating with the team. He made six appearances in the Premier League and three in the Champions League during the first half of the season, so he’s played a role in both competitions.

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