Arsenal were embarrassed in the Carabao Cup final by Manchester City.
The scoreline wasn’t humiliating – it was only a 2-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s side – but the manner in which the Gunners were dominated really was shameful.
One of the big reasons why Arsenal were that bad was the absence of a natural number 10. Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard were both out injured, and the Kai Havertz experiment didn’t really work.
Arsenal desperately needed an attacking midfielder on Sunday, and Ethan Nwaneri would’ve been perfect. But he was busy shining on loan.
Arsenal fans, what is the biggest mistake Mikel Arteta made in the Carabao Cup final?
Ethan Nwaneri shines for Marseille on the same day Arsenal lose to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final
The Arsenal players and Mikel Arteta must be hurting right now.
The Gunners started the Carabao Cup final reasonably well and should’ve scored through Havertz very early in the game. That could well have changed the result.
What else could have made the difference is the availability of their creative players – Eze and Odegaard. To have both players missing was a massive blow.
What rubs more salt into Arsenal’s wounds is the fact that they could’ve had Ethan Nwaneri ready to step in had they resisted the urge to send him out on loan in January.
Instead of filling in for Odegaard and Eze at Wembley, Nwaneri came on as a substitute for Marseille in the 18th minute of their game against Lille and opened the scoring before the end of the first half.
It was a fine goal from Nwaneri, and looking at the bigger picture, Arsenal will be pleased to see him get on the score sheet again.
However, in one part of Arteta’s brain, we have a feeling he will be regretting his decision to loan the teenager out.
The last time Nwaneri played against Manchester City, he scored a screamer. He may well have done the same had he played at Wembley on Sunday.
Be honest: Was Ethan Nwaneri’s loan move to Marseille a mistake?
Marseille must treat Ethan Nwaneri better
Arsenal sent Nwaneri out on loan because of Roberto De Zerbi, thinking that his tutelage would help the teenager fulfil his potential.
Under the Italian, the Arsenal academy graduate started every single game.
However, since De Zerbi was sacked, Nwaneri hasn’t been named in the starting lineup once in Ligue 1, which has been very frustrating.
Even against Lille, the 19-year-old, who had come on as a substitute, was taken off in the second half despite scoring Marseille’s only goal. The Olympians went on to lose the game.
Nwaneri is good enough to be a star at Marseille, but he needs more games to show them what he is all about. So far, he hasn’t been getting that, which is poor treatment.
Hopefully, his goal on Sunday will force Habib Beye to give him more opportunities in the coming games.
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