Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Ethan Nwaneri loan

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has made a slightly unconvincing claim about the decision to send Ethan Nwaneri out on loan to Marseille in the January transfer window.

The Gunners boss has perhaps unsurprisingly been asked about that risky call, with the decision clearly now backfiring after injuries to both Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino.

Nwaneri shone after making his first-team breakthrough last season, though he struggled to get as many minutes in the first half of this campaign.

The 18-year-old looks like he has a bright future, however, so Arsenal fans would surely have liked to see him get more chances while the likes of Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze have under-performed.

Mikel Arteta on loaning Ethan Nwaneri out to Marseille

Arteta defended the decision to loan out Nwaneri, however, as he insisted no one could have predicted the bad luck Arsenal have had with injuries.

See below as Fabrizio Romano quoted Arteta as saying: “Who could predict that Merino was going to be out for five months and Havertz? It’s unfortunate. For Ethan, it’s still very good to try a different environment, have minutes, play, get ready to come back to us.”

? Arteta on if he regrets letting Ethan Nwaneri go on loan: “Who could predict that Merino was going to be out for five months and Havertz? It’s unfortunate”.

“For Ethan, it’s still very good to try a different environment, have minutes, play, get ready to come back to us”. pic.twitter.com/6yvNB2C2QE

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 13, 2026

We’re not sure Arsenal fans will be that convinced by this, as it was very clear just how badly the club was struggling with injuries, both at the start of this season and for much of the previous campaign as well.

Havertz only recently returned to fitness after almost a year completely out of action, while others like Odegaard and Bukayo Saka have had repeated spells on the sidelines.

? Reporter: You could’ve been nine points clear, now it’s just four…

Arteta’s response…?? pic.twitter.com/OUDlTVW04m

— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) February 13, 2026

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Loaning out Nwaneri looked like a big risk and now it’s proven costly for AFC, who lacked spark and creativity in a disappointing draw with Brentford last night.

Arsenal fans will now just have to hope that Arteta can get more out of the likes of Odegaard, Saka and Eze between now and May or this is going to be another promising season that ultimately ends in disappointment.