William Saliba's important role in Ethan Nwaneri exit from Arsenal revealed

Ethan Nwaneri is set to join Marseille on loan for the rest of the season, and William Saliba had a major part to play in steering the youngster toward the Ligue 1 titans

William Saliba told Ethan Nwaneri that Marseille is "one of the best clubs in the world," as the Arsenal wonderkid secures a short-term loan with the French giants.

While the 18-year-old enjoyed a stellar season with the Gunners in 2024/25, racking up 26 Premier League appearances and playing in the Champions League in a further seven matches, his minutes have been limited this term as a result of stiff competition.

The versatile attacking midfielder mainly operated on the right wing last term, but with Bukayo Saka thriving and strong back-up in the form of Noni Madueke, Nwaneri has been limited to just six Premier League appearances this time out.

As a result, he now looks increasingly likely to spend the latter half of the season on loan with Marseille, where he will hopefully pick up more consistent game time and continue to evolve as a footballer.

Nwaneri was pictured holding a scarf of Les Olympiens as he arrived on Wednesday to finalise his loan deal.

And as per Fabrizio Romano, the Englishman was quick to point out some sage words of wisdom he had received from Arsenal team-mate Saliba ahead of his arrival.

Taking to X, the journalist quoted Nwaneri as saying: "William Saliba told me OM is one of the best clubs in the world."

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He also added that Nwaneri had said: "Roberto De Zerbi is also one of the best coaches in the world."

While he broke through the youth ranks of Saint-Etienne in 2018 and joined Arsenal the following year in a £27million move, Saliba has also enjoyed a loan stint of his own at the Orange Velodrome.

The French centre-half made his way to Marseille in a season-long deal for the entirety of 2021/22 alongside Matteo Guendouzi, racking up 52 appearances in total.

He was also named the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year and afforded a place in the Team of the Year.

Despite interest in retaining Saliba permanently, the 24-year-old returned to the English capital and has since gone on to become a first-team fixture under Mikel Arteta.

This season alone, Saliba has played a part in 18 Premier League matches, with 160 appearances for the Gunners under his belt in total across all competitions since his move in 2019.

Up next for Arsenal is a Premier League clash with Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The Gunners will look to expand their lead at the top of the league standings with a win, with just seven points separating them from second-place Manchester City at present.

As for Marseille, the club will play host to Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday evening as they look to secure automatic qualification to the knockout stages of the tournament. With two games of the league phase remaining, Marseille sit 16th in the standings, four points shy of the top eight.