Arsenal look set to lose Ethan Nwaneri’s younger brother Emerson this summer, despite continuing efforts to convince the player to stay.
Gary Jacob reported for The Times this week that Arsenal are fighting to keep hold of Emerson Nwaneri this summer, with concern that the player won’t sign a scholarship deal to remain at the club.
These are ongoing concerns, with rumours floating around throughout May that he might not sign, and it’s now looking increasingly likely that the younger Nwaneri brother intends to depart this summer.
That would be a disappointing outcome for Arsenal, who had promoted Emerson to the u18s this season, and had even given him his debuts in the UEFA Youth League and the Premier League 2.
The 15-year-old obviously hasn’t been fast-tracked as much as his brother, with Ethan already having made his Premier League debut by this point. But he’s still made appearances way above his age group.
Emerson’s progress with Arsenal has also been recognised internationally, with England giving the youngster a number of appearances in their u16 team this season.
But there’s an underlying sense that the Nwaneri family aren’t completely satisfied with how things are going for the Arsenal brothers. Ethan signed a new contract last summer, but he didn’t play a major role under Mikel Arteta this season, and he struggled on loan with Marseille.
Despite plenty of attempts to point the finger at Arsenal for those struggles, Nwaneri himself should take some responsibility as well.
The Gunners negotiated a loan deal that cost Marseille financially if they refused to pick Nwaneri for matches, but they did so anyway, with manager Habib Beye citing the player’s application in training. There’s only so much you can do for a loanee, the rest is up to the player and their temporary club.
Yet with the loan failing to work out and Ethan now potentially available for a summer transfer, it’s inevitable this would have some impact on Emerson’s own contract negotiations. Whatever the reasoning, it doesn’t currently look like the younger Nwaneri brother is set to stay.
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