Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri has not ruled out a permanent move to Marseille this summer but he was lucky to escape a red card in his latest appearance.
Photo via Nwaneri on Instagram
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Ethan Nwaneri spoke to the media ahead of Marseille’s Coupe de France tie against Stade Rennes this week to answer questions about his long-term future as a player.
Nwaneri confirmed that he does not have an option to buy on his loan deal with the Ligue 1 club, but he did not rule out a permanent move this summer.
“Yes, it’s true, anything is possible in football,” Nwaneri said. “We’ll see what happens. We’ll see if there’s any connection. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen. We’ll see when it happens.”
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
However, there is still a long way to go before Marseille can start considering offers for a permanent transfer. Although Navneri scored a perfect debut against Lens last month, things haven’t gone so smoothly since then.
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In the game against Paris FC, Nwanery came on with Marseille leading 2-0, but he was replaced before Marseille evened the lead at 2-2. Despite not being involved in the game that saw Marseille lose their lead, Navneri still received some criticism for his performance that day.
Things got worse for the 18-year-old against Stade Rennes as he was lucky not to be shown a red card for a flying challenge on former Gunner Glen Kamara. Nwaneri only received a yellow card, but Kamara was eventually forced off due to injury. Fortunately, there was no VAR in this game.
Despite avoiding a red card and potential suspension, Nwaneri was substituted at half-time. Marseille at least won the game 3-0 to ease the focus on Arsenal’s players.
Photo via Nwaneri on Instagram
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These are all normal things to go through when taking out a first-time loan. There will be positive moments, like Navneri’s debut goal, but there will also be difficult moments, like the games that followed.
The whole point of loaning Nwaneri out is that he can experience these moments and learn from them in a competitive environment, without Arsenal having to suffer the potential negative consequences in the title race.
Hopefully, Nwaneri can become a more complete player when he returns to Arsenal. If he does, the Gunners may not be interested in selling him.
