Declan Rice was among a number of Arsenal players, past and present, to congratulate Ethan Nwaneri after his stunning Marseille debut.
Given the competition for places at Premier League title-chasing Arsenal, Mikel Arteta took the decision to sanction the teenager’s loan move to the Ligue 1 club.
The attacking midfielder took no time to make an instant impact, scoring after just 13 minutes with a trademark left-footed strike from distance.
The presence of Roberto De Zerbi as Marseille was crucial to Arteta’s decision to allow the England Undere-21 international to move mid-season and the former Brighton boss was enthused by his new recruit’s display.
‘Ethan will become a top player, I’m sure about that.
‘You can see the quality, the impact… he’s so good, same for [fellow January signing] Quinten Timber.’
Nwaneri’s Marseille bow also drew praise from a number of his current Arsenal teammates, including Declan Rice, who commented ‘special bro’ on the 18-year-old’s Instagram post marking his Ligue 1 bow.
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The highly rated Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history at 15 years, 181 days when making his debut for Arsenal in September 2022. Last season, he scored nine goals for The Gunners in 37 games overall.
His goal made it 2-0 at a vibrant Stade Velodrome after Amine Gouiri netted in the third minute, swapping passes with Brazilian Igor Paixão before clipping the ball over the goalkeeper’s head.
United States winger Tim Weah set up Gouiri’s second goal of the game with a first-time cross from the right in the 75th as Marseille’s league-high goal tally reached 44 in 19 games.
Rayan Fofana pulled a late goal back but France winger Florian Thauvin was ineffective for Lens against the club where he scored 86 goals across two spells.
Marseille’s victory ended Lens’ 10-game winning streak in all competitions and stopped the northern side from reclaiming top spot from Paris Saint-Germain.
Third-placed Marseille moved five points behind Lens and remained seven behind PSG before their clash at Parc des Princes on February 8.
