Robert Pires makes claim about Ethan Nwaneri’s loan

Robert Pires insists he’s not worried about Ethan Nwaneri’s loan spell with Marseille, believing the Arsenal youngster can learn from new head coach Habib Beye.

Photo via Nwaneri on Instagram

Ethan Nwaneri’s loan spell to Marseille was thrown into chaos with the team’s failure to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages and Roberto De Zerbi’s subsequent departure from the club.

De Zerbi had repeatedly been cited as one of the reasons for Nwaneri’s transfer, so to see the manager leave the club less than a month into that loan spell was certainly disappointing.

All the same, former Arsenal and Marseille player Robert Pires believes there’s no reason to be concerned about the 18-year-old.

Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

“The English aren’t afraid of anything,” Pires said (via GFFN). “I’m not worried about him. He is technically very good, he takes players on, he provokes.

“Over the last three months, Habib Beye can bring him something – and vice versa. What is good for him is that Habib speaks English very well.”

Though he was born and raised in France, new Marseille boss Habib Beye spent five years of his playing career in England with Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Doncaster Rovers.

That will certainly have helped with learning English, as Pires suggests.

Photo via Nwaneri on Instagram

In the new manager’s first game in charge, Nwaneri wasn’t in the starting lineup, but he did make an appearance as a substitute.

That’s an improvement on his involvement under interim boss Jacques Abardonado, who made Nwaneri an unused sub in the previous game.

It remains a disappointment that De Zerbi didn’t stick around, with Nwaneri starting all four games (for which he was eligible) before the Italian manager left. But these kinds of setbacks will happen, and it’s up to the Arsenal loanee to win a spot under new management.

As a reminder, Marseille paid a guaranteed €1.5m fee for Nwaneri’s loan, but it could rise to as much as €4m if he isn’t involved regularly. The more he plays, the less the Ligue 1 club will owe in add-ons.

Marseille are next in action against Lyon on Sunday, March 1st at 19:45 GMT.