'Into the sharks': Mikel Arteta tells Ethan Nwaneri to sink or swim as Arsenal starlet seals Marseille loan | OneFootball

Gunners boss highlighted the club’s ‘incredible football culture’

Mikel Arteta urged Ethan Nwaneri to embrace the experience of being thrown "into the sharks" at Marseille.

The 18-year-old has joined the French side on loan until the end of the season, with Arsenal deciding Nwaneri needed more first-team football than he was currently getting in north London.

Arteta himself experienced a loan early in his career, leaving Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain, and he is confident Nwaneri will benefit from leaving the environment he has been in since the age of eight.

"When they talk about the opportunity and the clubs that are interested in you, the first thing is excitement," Arteta said.

"You are willing to play, you speak to the manager, he's very keen on you and you're going to play at the weekend and you're going to start a lot of games and this is all very good.

"But one day you have to go ‘okay, pack your bags, this is the flight tickets and you have to go to Marseille.’ Whoa, whoa, whoa.

"And that is fear, is insecurity, is getting out of a place that has been really comfortable for him around his family 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."

Ethan Nwaneri’s minutes have been limited this season

Getty Images

Arsenal were initially inclined to keep Nwaneri in the squad this month as Arteta wanted his options as strong as possible to compete across four competitions.

However, Marseille's interest changed that stance as the Gunners decided working under Roberto De Zerbi and playing more regularly would be beneficial for Nwaneri's development.

There is a good relationship between the two clubs after William Saliba spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Marseille.

The loan agreement is understood to include a fee that will decrease the more Marseille play Nwaneri.

"I think the talented young players that we have need minutes, and in this case, Ethan wasn’t having enough minutes," Arteta admitted.

"The last thing that we want is to cut his development because he’s such a talent and someone who lives and breathes football. That’s his life.

"After having a discussion with him, with his father, the agent and the club, we decided that the best thing to do was to leave and go on loan, and then we have to pick the right place.

"Having all the options, understand the experience that we had in Marseille as well with [Saliba], the fact that Roberto is there, he’s an incredible developer of young talent and he’s a really courageous manager in the way he plays, the way he plays with young talent as well, and he has a big track record about that.

"I think it fits the way of playing for the qualities that we want to see for Ethan. So it’s going to be a great experience for him."