Ethan Nwaneri’s ill-fated Marseille loan has taken another turn for the worse after the Arsenal starlet was lambasted by manager Habib Beye for his lack of commitment.
The 19-year-old signed for the Ligue 1 club during January and immediately gained the trust of old boss Roberto De Zerbi with a goal on his debut against Lens.
However, De Zerbi’s departed the club a month later – subsequently taking over at Arsenal’s rivals Tottenham – which resulted in Beye being installed as head coach.
Nwaneri’s opportunities have since been limited, failing to start any of the last 11 matches and remained as an unused substitute in Marseille’s 1-1 draw at home to Nice on Sunday.
When Beye was pressed on what Nwaneri needs to do to earn more minutes ahead of Marseille’s final three games this season, the ex-Newcastle defender provided a worrying answer.
“He’s a quality player, but he has to give us way more in his day-to-day commitment,” Beye told L1+. “Other players gave way more.”
Nwaneri enjoyed a superb breakthrough 2024-25 campaign, scoring nine goals in 37 appearances for Arsenal.
This came two years after the England U21 international made history as the youngest Premier League player of all time, coming off the bench against Brentford aged just 15 years and 181 days old. Arsenal teammate Max Dowman is the second youngest in the division’s history, making his debut this season against Leeds at the age of 15 years and 235 days.
Nwaneri, however, moved to the south of France on a short-term loan after he found minutes hard to come for Mikel Arteta’s title-challengers.
He has two goals and an assist to his name in nine league appearances and has not kicked on to the extent some may have expected.
Additional reporting from PA
