Ethan Nwaneri probably had a pang in his heart last Tuesday. A big one even. While he and the rest of his teammates were punished at the Commanderie, condemned to several days of compulsory confinement by the management, the young Englishman saw his little friends from Arsenal qualify for the Champions League final by beating Atlético de Madrid 1-0. The Premier League is also within reach. Cruel parallel of trajectories for the one who was loaned to OM in the winter by the Gunners and who is going through a difficult experience in France. He has been criticized several times by Habib Beye, the last time after the match against Nice, which he did not play.
“He is a quality player, but he must give us a lot more in his daily commitment. Other players gave much more“. While he remains on the bench, other young people like Nouhoum Kamissoko (21 years old), Tadjidine Mmadi (19 years old), Ugo Kadmiri (18 years old), Hilan Hamzaoui Slimani (20 years old) and Ange Lago (21 years old) have all made their first professional appearances. It even makes you wonder if we will see the 19-year-old attacking midfielder in an Olympian jersey again by the end of the season, he who has not appeared since the defeat at Lorient on April 18. He played 31 minutes that day.
Beye doesn’t play him anymore
For his last tenure, we have to go back to February 8 and the rout against PSG. Roberto De Zerbi, who led his last match, replaced him at half-time. This is the original problem for the English international hopefuls. He agreed to be loaned (without purchase option) to Marseille to work with the Italian technician. Unfortunately for him, three weeks after his arrival, RDZ left. Under Beye, the winger still played an hour against Lille. He came on in the 18th minute to replace the injured Greenwood and even opened the scoring… before being taken off himself in the 75th minute.
With only 11 appearances in all competitions with OM (412 minutes of playing time for 2 goals and 1 assist), the record is low. He played even less than at Arsenal in the first part of the season (12 appearances, 515 minutes, for 1 goal) even though that was precisely the desired objective. England itself was moved by its fate, bluntly evoking “a fiasco» a few days after this famous missed shot on goal in the quarter-final of the Coupe de France against Toulouse. 5th shooter that evening, a rather surprising choice in fact, the left-hander had blown his shot over the bar, precipitating the elimination of his team.
Arsenal won’t keep him
This is the other turning point in his Marseille adventure. Nwaneri still maintains good popularity across the Channel. In March, he even shone with the England U21s alongside his friend Lewis-Skelly. One waxes the bench in a club in distress, the other applies for a starting place in the C1 final. Arsenal also observes this situation with a certain detachment. “If we can count on players from the training center, it is obviously much better, because the identity is there. (…) But they must deserve it, and not just for a week, nor a month, nor even years, like anyone else», Warned Arteta in mid-April. Nwaneri hoped to gain legitimacy with this loan, he is ultimately closer to a permanent departure, not at OM of course.
