Perry Groves has criticised Mikel Arteta for agreeing to let Ethan Nwanerileave Arsenal throughout the January transfer window.
Nwaneri, who became the Premier League’s youngest ever player when he made his Arsenal first-team debut on the age of 15, was sent on loan to Marseille for the remaining of the season.
The 18-year-old only made 12 appearances for the Gunners within the first-half of the season and didn’t start a single Premier League game.
That represented a surprisingly small impact from a player who featured heavily last season – making 37 appearances in all competitions – and signed a brand new contract in the summertime.
Nwaneri’s lack of minutes was partly all the way down to Arsenal’s business in the summertime transfer window, with Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze each moving to the Emirates Stadium.
The teenage midfielder was still not expected to exit on loan however the prospect of more game-time at an elite European club promoted Nwaneri to push for a move.
Nwaneri enjoyed a dream begin to his spell at Marseille, scoring on his debut and being hailed by then-manager Roberto De Zerbi, but he has struggled to make an impact since then.
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Former Arsenal winger Groves understands why the England U21 star was keen to exit on loan but believes it was a mistake for the club to sanction it.
The Gunners are still competing for all 4 trophies going into the business end of the season and Groves says an additional body can be no bad thing for Arteta as he juggles Arsenal’s domestic and European commitments.
‘The one thing I’ve all the time said, I couldn’t imagine they let Ethan Nwaneri go,’ Groves told talkSPORT.
‘I don’t care, you may’t have too many bodies, even in the event you’re not giving them game-time and people players usually are not moving into a squad of 20, who cares?
‘He may be unhappy, I don’t care if he’s completely satisfied or unhappy. I believe Nwaneri just desired to play.
‘We mentioned where he plays, [Martin] Odegaard’s in front of him, [Eberechi] Eze’s in front of him, [Mikel] Merino’s in front of him and he’s like, “I ain’t getting any game-time.”
‘But they need to have said to him, “I don’t care, you’re staying here. ‘[Myles] Lewis-Skelly will be the identical.
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‘At the top of the season, and the players will realize it, there’ll be 4 or five of them who aren’t going to be there next 12 months.
‘Those two players I’ve mentioned there, they probably won’t be there next season because they’re at a stage where they need to play.
‘They can be pondering, “I’m not going to be third-choice or fourth-choice”. But, you’ve got to be ruthless.’
Following Nwaneri’s move to Marseille, Gunners boss Arteta said: ‘Talented players must have minutes and Ethan on this case wasn’t having enough minutes.
‘The very last thing I would like to do is cut his development because he’s such a talent.’
Arteta was keen for Nwaneri to develop under ex-Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi but he agreed to depart Marseille last month after the club’s Champions League exit.
Premier League leaders Arsenal put their title aspirations on hold this week as they face Bayer Leverkusen in the primary leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
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