Ethan Nwaneri’s debut golazo for Marseille should put Mikel Arteta on red alert

Michael Lee • 25 Jan 2026

Seeing Ethan Nwaneri weave his way through the Lens defence on his Marseille debut made me realise some people are more suited to a French Exchange than others.

As a shy and callow 14-year-old, I spent a week with a French family somewhere between Lyon and Avignon.

The experience was akin to a brushstroke on a blank canvas; it’s one thing speaking classroom Francais in a West Country accent, another trying to ask for a coat hanger in a pre-Google Translate world.

Happily, it seems that Nwaneri has taken to life in France comme un poisson dans l’eau.

Having joined Robert De Zerbi’s gang of rogues and cast-offs at Marseille, on loan from Arsenal for the rest of the season, Nwaneri was thrown straight into the XI for the 3-1 win over Lens.

Not only was this a meeting between two of France’s three genuine football hotbeds (Saint-Etienne are currently in Ligue 2), but both sides have genuine ambitions of an improbable league title.

Marseille were already leading through Amine Gouiri’s third-minute strike when Nwaneri dribbled unchallenged into the Lens half.

Gliding forward as if transported by one of those traveltors you see at airports, the Arsenal teenager sent one hapless opponent for a merguez sandwich with a casual shimmy.

Arriving outside the Lens penalty area, Nwaneri opened his body and unleashed a mole-murdering shot that curled inside the post. The Velodrome, never the most zen of venues, lost its collective sh*t.

Nwaneri’s celebration was casual in the extreme, resisting the urge to match the crowd despite the adrenaline that must have been coursing through his veins.

Ethan Nwaneri goal Marseille [2]-0 Lens
byu/chazzledazzle10 insoccer

After being starved of minutes at the Emirates, the youngster will be hoping to catch Mikel Arteta’s eye with an ambition of more regular first-team football in 2026-27.

“I think the talented players need to have minutes, and Ethan in this case wasn’t having enough minutes,” Arteta said about the decision to send Nwaneri on loan.

“The last thing I want to do is cut his development because he is such a talent and someone that loves and breathes football.

“That’s his life, and after having a discussion with him, his father and his agent, we decided the best thing to do is leave and go on loan and then we have to pick the right place,” he continued.

“Understanding the experience we had there with Willy [Saliba] and Roberto [De Zerbi] is there, and he is a really courageous manager in the way he plays and with the way he plays with young talent as well, and I think he fits the way they play with the qualities we want to see with Ethan.”

The success of William Saliba at Saint-Etienne propelled him into Arteta’s starting XI, indicating the pathway is open for Nwaneri to achieve his goal.

And, with Arsenal’s football still stodgy despite their healthy lead at the Premier League summit, they would benefit from the 18-year-old’s flair and on-ball trickery in the long-term.

Nwaneri has already had a more successful French Exchange than I did. The sky is the limit if he keeps pushing on.

By Michael Lee

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