Arsenal should not have allowed Ethan Nwaneri to join Marseille on loan, even if he was disappointed with his lack of minutes.
That’s the attitude of former Gunners winger Perry Groves as he discusses the Hale End graduate’s future in the latest episode of Inside Gooners.
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Nwaneri is spending the second half of the season on loan in France after starting just four games for Arsenal in the opening months.
But although a move to Marseille offers him a new chance for more playing time, the 18-year-old has only played 306 minutes in total.
Back in north London, his parent club is still aiming for glory in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
With him competing on four different fronts, coach Mikel Arteta will have to change his starting lineup to avoid injury problems.
Had Nwaneri stayed at the club he might have featured even more often and Groves believes it was a mistake to allow him to leave.
“The one thing I’ve always said is that I couldn’t believe they let Nwaneri go,” he said before the 2-1 FA Cup win over Mansfield Town.
“I don’t care, you can’t have too many squads, even if you don’t give them playing time and those players don’t get into a 20-man squad, who cares?”
Inside Gooners presenter Nick Bright suggested: “There’s probably a bit of player management going on just to keep him happy.”
However, Groves reiterated, “Who cares?”
“I think the problem was that Roberto De Zerbi wasn’t there anymore,” Bright added, because Nwaneri didn’t get any minutes in Marseille.
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“I think there were certain assurances because Arteta wanted him to play under De Zerbi and then De Zerbi left.”
“But he may be unhappy at the end of the season, you know what I mean?” Groves replied. “I don’t care if he’s happy or unhappy.”
Minutes about cutlery?
As Harry Symeou further analyzed Nwaneri’s move to Marseille, he tried to imagine the player’s motivations for agreeing to leave.
“From Nwaneri’s point of view, I know you want to play and develop. But if there wasn’t a part of you…” Symeou began.
“If Arsenal win multiple trophies, I know you played the first half of the season with us, so you did your part.”
“But I don’t know if I want to miss it. When I’m 17 or 18 years old, I don’t think about my career and think, ‘Oh my God, I only have so much time left’. I’m not ready yet.”
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“I would have wanted to be there, so I’m surprised if he would have done it, because I don’t know if he did. I’m surprised he was so committed to going to Marseille.”
In response, Groves said, “I think he just wanted to play. I think he realized that…”
“We mentioned where he plays, (Martin) Odegaard is ahead of him, (Eberechi) Eze is ahead of him, (Mikel) Merino is ahead of him and he says: ‘I’m not getting playing time.'”
“Again, I can’t talk about what happened behind the scenes because I don’t know,” Symeou continued.
“But if I were Nwaneri, my argument wouldn’t be ‘I have to play somewhere else’.”
“My argument would be: ‘Odegaard isn’t playing so well this season. If we’re honest, Eze has suffered a setback. And Mikel Merino is something of a utility man, centre-forward, midfielder, deeper in midfield. Give me a chance’.”
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“I would have beaten the drum, I think. Maybe he did and it fell on deaf ears.”
However, Groves then stated, “You just improved on what I said.”
“That’s why he still didn’t get playing time and said, ‘No, I want to go and play’. They should have said to him, ‘I don’t care, you stay here.'”
“(Myles) Lewis-Skelly will be the same,” he added. “At the end of the season, and the players will know this, there will be four or five who won’t be there next year.”
“Lewis-Skelly will probably start against Mansfield and play either at left-back or even in midfield because he wants to play there, then he might be another option.”
“But the two players I mentioned there probably won’t be there next season because they’re at a stage where they want to play and they’re thinking, ‘I’m not going to be third or fourth choice’. But you have to be ruthless.”
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Hale endings
While there is still plenty of time left in the season for the situation to change, Arsenal could say goodbye to two more young stars.
Nwaneri, who became the youngest player in Premier League history in 2022, joined the Gunners aged eight.
Since then, as a teenage talent, he has played 51 games for the senior national team in all competitions, scoring ten goals and providing assists.
Lewis-Skelly also signed for Arsenal at the age of eight and the now 19-year-old has played 65 times for the first team.
The versatile defender made 26 appearances for the club and was called up to the England national team for the first time last season.
Like Nwaneri, Groves has also hinted at a summer exit, particularly when he has only started once in the Premier League this season.
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It wouldn’t be the first time that popular Hale End stars have left Arsenal permanently.
Emile Smith Rowe played regularly in the first team after his time in the academy before joining Fulham for £34 million in 2024.
A more recent move saw Ayden Heaven move to historic Premier League rivals Manchester United in February 2025.
Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah also decided on new tasks: the strikers moved to Monaco and Crystal Palace respectively.
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