In a move designed to nurture one of English football’s brightest prospects, Arsenal Football Club has confirmed the loan transfer of teenage midfielder Ethan Nwaneri to French giants Olympique de Marseille for the remainder of the 2025/2026 season.
The 18-year-old, who holds the record as the youngest-ever Premier League player, will seek regular first-team football in Ligue 1 after finding opportunities limited in Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing squad.
The strategic decision, announced on Wednesday, sees Nwaneri join a Marseille side currently third in Ligue 1 and competing in the Champions League. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta emphasised that the loan was essential for the player’s continued growth. “I think the talented young players that we have need minutes, and in this case, Ethan wasn’t having enough minutes,” Arteta stated.
“The last thing that we want is to cut his development because he’s such a talent and someone who lives and breathes football”. Following discussions with the player, his family, and representatives, the club determined a temporary move was in his best interest.
A significant factor in choosing Marseille was the presence of manager Roberto De Zerbi, renowned for developing young talent, and the club’s successful history with Arsenal defender William Saliba. Saliba flourished during a loan spell at Marseille in the 2021/22 campaign before returning to become a cornerstone of Arteta’s defence.
Arteta believes De Zerbi’s courageous, attacking style is an ideal match for Nwaneri’s qualities. “Having all the options, understand the experience that we had in Marseille as well with [William Saliba], the fact that Roberto is there and he’s an incredible developer of young talent… I think it fits,” the Arsenal manager explained.
For Nwaneri, the move represents a pivotal step in his career after a breakout 2024/25 season, where he made 37 appearances and scored nine goals, partially due to an injury crisis in Arsenal’s attack.
This campaign, however, the summer signings of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke for a combined £115 million have congested the attacking midfield and wing positions, restricting Nwaneri to just 12 appearances and only four starts. “He has found his route into the first team challenged,” noted one report, highlighting Arsenal’s focus on immediate silverware.
The financial terms of the deal involve a substantial loan fee for a six-month stint, which could reportedly be worth around €4 million, with a unique clause that reduces the fee based on the number of appearances Nwaneri makes.
Marseille will cover the player’s salary in full. Upon joining, Nwaneri expressed his enthusiasm, calling Marseille “one of the biggest clubs in Europe” and stating he is “ready to help the team”. He will work under De Zerbi, whom he described as “one of the best coaches in the world”.
The Italian manager, in turn, welcomed the addition: “He’s a very good player. We need fresh energy with so many games. He’ll be important for us”.
The transfer underscores a recurring theme for top Premier League academies: balancing the immediate pressure to win trophies with the long-term need to develop homegrown stars. As Arsenal push for honours on multiple fronts, promising talents like Nwaneri require competitive minutes that can be scarce.
Arteta, who experienced beneficial loan spells as a player himself, acknowledged the emotional challenge of such a move but framed it as necessary. “One day you have to pack your bags… and that is fear, is insecurity,” he said. “But then this is the thing at the end – you have to be thrown there, into the sharks in an incredible football culture and atmosphere and club and it’s going to make him so good”.
Nwaneri will join a Marseille squad featuring former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mason Greenwood, offering a blend of elite experience and high-pressure expectations at the famed Stade Vélodrome.
With the deal containing no option or obligation to buy, Arsenal’s vision remains firmly fixed on Nwaneri’s future in North London, hoping he follows the “Saliba pathway” and returns a more complete player ready to fulfil his vast potential.