Arsenal: Newcastle in ‘firm’ talks for £30m Gunners star as Arteta wants players of a ‘higher level’ | OneFootball

Ethan Nwaneri to Newcastle is the “favourite position” as the Magpies hold “firm” talks to land the Arsenal star this summer as Mikel Arteta decides he needs players of a “higher level”.

Nwaneri has made 51 appearances for Arsenal after breaking through from the Hale End academy but was sent out on loan to Marseille in the second half of their title-winning season in search of more game time.

That move didn’t pan out particularly well for the 19-year-old as Roberto De Zerbi’s departure effectively cut his loan short as he didn’t appear in any of the Ligue 1 side’s last four games and featured for just 322 minutes in total.

In March, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta plans to reintegrate Nwaneri into his squad next season.

Romano said: “Yes, for Nwaneri it’s not an easy situation at present obviously because he went to Olympique Marseille with the expectation to work under Roberto De Zerbi, and then De Zerbi decided to leave Marseille.

“So, it’s a completely different situation. Also, the expectation was for Marseille to continue their Champions League campaign, and then they got eliminated in the final minutes of the final game.

“So, it has been different compared to the expectations for Nwaneri. But, at the moment, I can guarantee that Arsenal maintain full confidence in the player.

“So, Arsenal are waiting for him to complete the season at Olympique Marseille for this final 10, 11 games and then come back to the club, come back to Arsenal. They believe in Nwaneri 100%.

“So, the message from Arsenal is still optimistic. In the summer, they will speak to the player to understand what’s the best situation for him, whether it’s staying at Arsenal or maybe going on loan somewhere else.

“So, they will assess all the options with the player. But Arsenal maintain full trust in Ethan.

“Even if they understand it has been an unlucky loan so far at Olympique Marseille, they believe in the player, they trust the player, they trust his potential, and so nothing has changes in terms of long-term plans.”

However, our friends at TEAMtalk revealed last week that Arsenal are ‘open’ to selling Nwaneri, with Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa all interested, along with Serie A side Como.

‘Biggest, firmest discussions’ with Newcastle

And former Everton CEO Keith Wyness has revealed that Newcastle are the frontrunners to land the 19-year-old this summer.

“My sources and I have made a few calls, and Nwaneri to Newcastle seems to be the favourite position right now, that’s where the talk is,” Wyness told Football Insider.

“Of course, these things can change pretty quickly, but I’m told that’s where the biggest, firmest discussions are right now.

“I think that if there’s going to be a strengthening of Arteta’s squad, it’s going to be at a higher quality and a higher level than Nwaneri, but he’s a good player.

“He can do a job better at Newcastle, where he’ll get more minutes. So that sort of thing makes sense for him to have another loan.”