Mikel Arteta has said Ethan Nwaneri "looks like a different man" after returning from his loan spell at Marseille, even though the move did not work out on the pitch.
Nwaneri, 19, joined Marseille on loan in January after struggling for game time at Arsenal. The academy graduate made 37 appearances in all competitions during the 2024-25 season but featured in only six Premier League games before being sent to Ligue 1.
Difficult spell in France
The midfielder, who is the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League, scored just 13 minutes into his Marseille debut. He then fell out of favour and made 11 appearances across his stint in France.
A number of pundits criticised Arteta's decision to loan out Nwaneri, who is widely seen as the future of Arsenal, particularly given how the Marseille spell unfolded.
What Arteta said
Arteta admits the loan "wasn't ideal" but believes Nwaneri's time away will help him in his career.
"On the pitch, he didn't [work] because a lot happened in Marseille," Arteta said after Arsenal beat Girona 4-1 in their first pre-season friendly. "But when you just stand in front of him, you sense the maturity and he looks like a different man."
"The experience on paper, it wasn't ideal but I think he went through something that is going to help him a lot in his career."
Transfer plans and title defence
Nwaneri will face even more competition at Arsenal next season as the Gunners close in on a deal for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. Arteta refused to discuss any specific deals after the Girona win but insisted Arsenal were "really active" in the summer transfer market.
"We are really active trying to improve and evolve the team; that's clear," he said. "We expect to have movements in the next few weeks, obviously. We want to get better like anybody else, and you just can see the transfer market and our opponents, what we are doing. We won't sit still and we are very ambitious with what we are doing."
Asked why it was so important to bolster his squad, Arteta said: "Because the margins are very small. Because we want to get better and the level is going to increase. We need to increase the competition internally. We need to make sure we identify the things that we don't have in the team. We have bigger margins and that's the way we have to see it."
Arsenal face Real Betis in their next pre-season friendly before warm-up games against Borussia Dortmund and Como. Arteta's side begin their Premier League title defence on August 21 against newly-promoted Coventry City, managed by Frank Lampard.
