Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille have signed Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri on loan.
The 18-year-old was struggling for game time under Mikel Arteta, and there were games in which he didn’t even make the matchday squad.
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A spell away was the best thing for all parties, and after holding talks with De Zerbi, Arteta convinced Nwaneri to join the Olympians on loan until the end of the season.
The Marseille boss clearly rates Nwaneri highly, but there are two other Arsenal players he is a big fan of as well – Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze.
Roberto De Zerbi says he would love to coach Arsenal duo Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze
De Zerbi made a fantastic name for himself when he was the manager of Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Italian’s style of football was incredible to watch, and he has carried that on to Marseille in France, where he has done a fine job so far.
Ethan Nwaneri will now be working with De Zerbi until the end of the season, and we are really excited to see how that will help him improve.
The Marseille boss loves attacking midfielders, so much so that he raved about Arsenal’s two other number 10s this week.
On the Viva El Futbol podcast, De Zerbi was asked to name one player he would like to coach at Marseille or anywhere else in the world.
He replied: “A player I really like a lot… Odegaard from Arsenal, who’s a number 10.
“Olise, the one you mentioned earlier. Yes, I really like the one from Liverpool, Wirtz. Oh, and Eze, he’s also from Arsenal. Another strong player.”
Imagine it’s the Champions League final tomorrow and you could only start one player out of Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard. Who are you picking and why?
Ethan Nwaneri could thrive under Roberto De Zerbi at Marseille
Nwaneri is a tremendous talent.
The teenager has shown his quality at Arsenal over the last two years, and everyone in the game is convinced that he will become a superstar one day.
Arteta is the perfect manager for Nwaneri because of how demanding he is, but the youngster is nowhere near the top of the Arsenal boss’ pecking order.
That is why a loan move is perfect, and De Zerbi, who is just as demanding as Arteta, will make a huge difference to the youngster.
We can’t wait to see how Nwaneri will fare in France in the coming months.
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