Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri makes instant impact just 13 minutes into Marseille debut

Ethan Nwaneri wasted no time adjusting to his new surroundings after signing for Marseille on loan.

The Arsenal youngster scored just 13 minutes into his debut for the French side against Lens on Saturday night.

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Nwaneri completed a temporary switch until the end of the season on Friday.

Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi was instantly rewarded for throwing the 18-year-old straight into his starting line-up.

The home side had already taken the lead after three minutes through Amine Gouiri.

Nwaneri then doubled his new side’s advantage inside the opening quarter of an hour.

His delightful solo effort saw the teenager dribble past a defender as he cut inside onto his left foot around 25 yards out.

The England under-21 international then calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to score his first goal for Marseille.

It is the 11th senior club goal of Nwaneri’s career, having scored ten times in 51 first-team appearances for the Gunners.

His move to France comes after he penned a new deal at the Emirates Stadium last summer until 2030.

Arsenal had been reluctant to allow Nwaneri to leave the club before several players returned from injury to soften their stance.

There is no buy option included in the move, with the youngster set to return to Mikel Arteta‘s squad at the end of the campaign.

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Meanwhile, West Ham had also been interested in a move for Nwaneri this month, talkSPORT understands.

However, the Hammers’ attempts to complete the loan signing were rejected by Arsenal.

Instead, Nwaneri has headed to Ligue 1 to secure regular playing time for the remainder of the campaign.

Prior to the move, he had made just six substitute appearances in the Premier League this season.

Explaining the decision this week, Arteta said: “Talented players need to have minutes and Ethan in this case wasn’t having enough minutes.

“The last thing I want to do is cut his development because he is such a talent.”

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A win for Marseille tonight would see them cut the gap to second place Lens to five points.

The nine-time French champions currently sit in third and occupy the final automatic Champions League qualification spot.