‎Ethan Nwaneri Reveals Arsenal Star Who Persuaded Him to Join Marseille on Loan

By: Shawn
‎Ethan Nwaneri has disclosed which Arsenal teammate encouraged him to make the move to Marseille as he arrived in southern France to complete a loan switch to the Ligue 1 side. The teenage midfielder is set to spend the second half of the campaign with the French giants in an effort to secure more consistent playing time after finding opportunities limited at the Emirates.
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‎Ethan Nwaneri reveals William Saliba convinced him to join Marseille as the Arsenal youngster arrives in France to finalise a loan move in search of regular minutes.
‎Getty Images Sport 
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‎Game time has been difficult to come by for the young forward this season. Arsenal strengthened heavily last summer by signing Noni Madueke from Chelsea and Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, a strategy that reduced Nwaneri’s chances of featuring regularly for Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders.
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‎The current campaign contrasts sharply with Nwaneri’s breakthrough 2024-25 season. During that run, he appeared 26 times in the league, starting 11 matches. This term, however, the 18-year-old — who signed a new contract last year — has managed only 166 Premier League minutes across six substitute appearances. His most recent outing came late in Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over Tottenham in November.
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‎Nwaneri started just his fourth match of the season in last weekend’s 4-1 FA Cup third-round win against Portsmouth. Now, he hopes to enjoy a more influential role with Marseille in the months ahead. Despite attracting interest from several Premier League clubs and teams across Europe, he chose the move to the Velodrome.
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‎The youngster has revealed that William Saliba played a key role in persuading him to head to France. Saliba joined Arsenal in 2019 before returning on loan to Saint-Etienne to continue his development. He later spent time with Nice and then Marseille during the 2021-22 season, where he made 36 league appearances and established himself among Europe’s top young defenders.
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‎After returning to Arsenal in 2022, Saliba became a central figure in Arteta’s side, starting 118 of 136 league matches since the 2022-23 campaign. Nwaneri now hopes to follow a similar path and said: “William Saliba told me OM is one of the best clubs in the world.”
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‎The midfielder is also eager to benefit from working under Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian took charge of Marseille in 2024 and guided them to a second-place finish in his debut season. Although the club currently trails leaders Lens by eight points and sits seven behind PSG after 18 matches, Nwaneri praised his new coach, stating: “Roberto De Zerbi is also one of the best coaches in the world.”
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‎Marseille recently suffered a 3-0 Champions League defeat to Liverpool, with goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, an own goal by Geronimo Rulli and a late strike from Cody Gakpo sealing the result. The loss leaves Marseille on nine points and in the playoff positions, just one point above Napoli and FC Copenhagen.
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‎A demanding week awaits De Zerbi’s side, beginning with a top-of-the-table meeting with Lens before travelling to Club Brugge for their final Champions League group match. The Belgian side claimed only their second European win of the season in midweek and now sit just one point outside the playoff places and two behind Marseille.

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