Ethan Nwaneri had a tough outing when Marseille visited the Parc des Princes, prompting fans to talk about the Arsenal loanee.
Nwaneri shone on his Marseille debut, but since then, things have been increasingly difficult for the teenager.
It was never going to be all rosy for the Arsenal starlet, but Marseille are in a particularly challenging place, putting pressure on Roberto De Zerbi.
Mikel Arteta wanted Nwaneri to join Marseille because of De Zerbi, so the idea of the manager being under question is a concern, but that’s the last discussion point on the minds of Marseille fans.
Fast-forward to May and tell us, was Ethan Nwaneri’s loan to Marseille beneficial?
Marseille fans have a theory as to why Ethan Nwaneri is starting on loan from Arsenal
Marseille are fourth in Ligue 1, so it’s not all doom and gloom, but their 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Le Classique was nothing short of disastrous.
After Nwaneri’s controversial outing against Rennes, De Zerbi retained trust in the midfielder, but Marseille fans think the reason for his fourth consecutive start has nothing to do with his ability.
As posted and translated on X, Marseille supporters have started to wonder if Nwaneri is starting purely because of the conditions of his loan.
“He’s simply playing because, if he doesn’t play, OM will have to pay penalties… That’s why Nwaneri started last night,” one fan posted.
Another raised the same point, “I reckon he’s the starter because the clause is X matches as a starter… It wouldn’t make any sense to put a clause with X matches played because you’d just need to sub him on for 5 mins… that’s not what Arsenal want.”
Use ONE WORD to describe Arsenal’s decision to loan Ethan Nwaneri to Marseille… 🫣
Marseille’s loan fee for Nwaneri indeed decreases based on game time, but it’s not clear whether this counts for starts or just minutes.
The playmaker’s woes against PSG triggered one fan to ask, “In the deal with Arsenal, does it have to be a guaranteed starter?”
A fellow fan was in the same boat, “Isn’t he obliged to give Nwaneri a start? I reckon it’s in the contract.”
In a punishing review of Nwaneri’s struggles against PSG, one Marseille supporter simply stated that the Arsenal loanee is not ready to start for the club right now.
“Evidently, OM will have to pay penalties if he doesn’t play according to the terms laid out in the loan from Arsenal, but Nwaneri is really far too lightweight at the moment, and it’s no gift at all to start him like this!”
Forget game time, Mikel Arteta will be most worried about another part of Nwaneri’s loan
So, it’s fair to say that Marseille fans don’t want to see Nwaneri start their next game, but would also be unsurprised if he did.
Arteta will be wary of the teenager’s situation in France, but his attention will also be on how he improves with his return to Arsenal in mind.
If Arsenal received a £70m bid for Ethan Nwaneri in the summer, would you sell him?
The problem is that, against PSG, Nwaneri’s defensive work was notably slack, something the Arsenal manager will not like.
On X, one fan said, “he completely floundered yesterday, including in his attitude, particularly defensively,” when describing Nwaneri’s performance.
Nwaneri contested seven duels against PSG and won just two of them, and was dribbled past.
It was an outing to forget for the Hale End product, who will want to quickly turn his attention to his next game.
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