The idea seemed like a good deal when Olympique de Marseille secured the loan of young Ethan Nwaneri last winter. Barred by the Arsenal stars, the 19-year-old winger was expected to gain experience by gaining playing time on the Canebière. Unfortunately for him, the Marseille adventure quickly turned sour. The man who convinced him to come to France, Roberto De Zerbi, left OM just a few days after his arrival. Since then, Nwaneri has enjoyed average playing time and was recently slightly reframed by RDZ’s successor, Habib Beye.
“He is a great talent who must adapt to Ligue 1 in its intensity. Against Lille he scored, but there are still aspects of his game that need to be much stronger. He appears to be the ideal replacement in Mason’s absence, but we have several choices with quality players. He must understand that he is arriving at a very, very high level club. What is very good is that he scored for the selection. Sometimes in the selection we have playing time and that’s very positive for us.”declared the Marseille technician before the reception in Metz.
Arsenal will not give him any gifts
Left on the sidelines during Marseille’s success against the Grenats (3-1), Nwaneri is under more pressure than ever. Because in the meantime, the young Englishman, just like his teammate Myles Lewis-Skelly (31 times in the group, 15 appearances including only 2 as a starter in the Premier League), received a very clear message from Mikel Arteta just before the London club’s match against Bournemouth (lost 1-2). Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly may well be products of the Arsenal team, but the Gunners will not hesitate to part with them next summer if they do not raise their demands.
“The Academy (the training center, editor’s note) is part of us. But I think that in the end, what should define this football club is the search for excellence and the quest for perfection, whether the players come from the academy or from abroad. In the end, if we can count on players from Hale End (the Arsenal training center, editor’s note), it’s obviously much better, because the identity is there. We grow with them, and they know exactly what we are looking for. But they have to earn it, and not just for a week, or a month, or even years, like anyone else. It doesn’t matter what department or role you have within the club. Ultimately, you must maintain a level of performance, and it must be of the highest level. If we want to win sustainably, we must win”. The message got through.
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