Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri’s loan spell at Marseille has taken yet another turn for the worse.
The teenager did not get much game time at the Emirates in the first half of the season, so a decision was made to send him out on loan.
Arsenal chose Marseille for Nwaneri because of Roberto De Zerbi, but the Italian was sacked just weeks later.
The 18-year-old has since struggled.
Who do you think will be the bigger Arsenal star in 10 years – Ethan or Emerson Nwaneri?
French press react to Ethan Nwaneri’s performance for Marseille vs Toulouse
Marseille’s dreams of winning the Coupe de France are over after losing to Toulouse on Wednesday night.
The Olympians were held to a 2-2 draw in the quarter-finals in normal time, and the game went to a penalty shootout to decide who went through to the next round.
Ethan Nwaneri didn’t start the game against Toulouse, but he came on at half-time and was given the responsibility of taking a penalty.
Unfortunately for the youngster, his strike went over the bar, and that kick knocked Marseille out of the competition.
Nwaneri was reduced to tears after the game. Here’s what some media outlets in France had to say about him.
Maxifoot gave him a 3.5/10 rating and wrote: “He made a rather discreet entrance. The Englishman missed the decisive penalty and then couldn’t hold back his tears.”
Le Phoceen gave him a 1.5/10 rating and said: “Brought on to inject some attacking energy, the young player never managed to match the intensity of the match. Too quiet in duels and imprecise in his passing, he quickly gave the impression of being a passive participant rather than an active influence.
“His touches rarely led to dangerous situations, and he failed to inject the dynamism of Marseille’s attack as hoped. In an already tense atmosphere, his introduction did nothing to change the team’s attacking performance.
“A very difficult appearance that will be remembered as a particularly challenging moment in this match.”
90min in France rated him 3/10 and wrote: “The English striker provided some link-up play at times without truly influencing the game. His bursts of speed generally didn’t lead to clear-cut chances. His missed penalty eliminated Marseille.”
Be honest: Was Ethan Nwaneri’s loan move to Marseille a mistake?
Ethan Nwaneri’s stats for Marseille vs Toulouse
Nwaneri had a very difficult game for Marseille against Toulouse.
It was never going to be easy for the teenager to go to a new country and become a star there, especially after the manager who signed him left his job just a few weeks later. That difficulty was evident in his performance on Wednesday night.
Nwaneri only had 24 touches of the ball after coming on, and he lost possession seven times. His passing accuracy was only 81 per cent, and he did not create a single chance while he was on the pitch.
Furthermore, the Arsenal loanee failed to win any of his duels, and to make things worse, he missed the penalty that cost Marseille a spot in the semi-finals.
Sofascore gave Nwaneri a 5.7/10 rating for his performance, the worst of all Marseille players.
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