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  "path": "/2026/02/13/mikel-arteta-insists-best-decision-let-arsenal-star-leave-despite-injury-woes-26877511/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-13T13:18:25.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Football",
    "Sport",
    "Arsenal",
    "Arsenal transfer news",
    "Ethan Nwaneri",
    "Marseille",
    "Mikel Arteta",
    "Premier League",
    "Transfer News and Rumours",
    "Nwaneri has started every game since arriving in France",
    "Mikel Merino could be out for the rest of the season",
    "Kai Havertz sidelined again with a muscle problem.",
    "Martin Odegaard",
    "leaving the stadium with a limp after the 1-1 draw with Brentford on Thursday.",
    "Sign up here",
    "with Premier League sides also interested in the young star.",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "Arteta has no regrets over the January decision (Picture: Getty)\n\nMikel Arteta insists it was still the ‘best decision’ for Arsenal to allow Ethan Nwaneri to leave the club to join Marseille on loan.\n\nNwaneri broke into the first-team last season but big spending at the Emirates in the summer saw him pushed down the pecking order, starting just four matches in all competitions – none of those in the Premier League.\n\nThe 18-year-old did not even make the bench in the final four league games before he sealed a January move to Marseille until the end of the season.\n\nNwaneri has started every game since arriving in France but back in north London, injuries mean Arteta is suddenly short of options in midfield.\n\nMikel Merino could be out for the rest of the season having undergone foot surgery this week with Kai Havertz sidelined again with a muscle problem.\n\nMartin Odegaard has also struggled with a knock in recent weeks and was spotted leaving the stadium with a limp after the 1-1 draw with Brentford on Thursday. Eberechi Eze, one of the signings who pushed Nwaneri down the pecking order, is woefully out of form.\n\nArsenal are still battling on four fronts with Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Wigan Athletic a game Nwaneri would have surely started.\n\n##  Get your football fix\n\nDon't want to miss the week's biggest football stories? **Metro's** exclusive football newsletter, In The Mixer, is your essential guide.\n\nFrom the latest transfer rumours and managerial moves to analysis of the biggest games and a lot more, our experts have you covered.\n\nSign up here, it's an open goal.\n\nNwaneri is already getting plenty of game time in France (Picture: Getty)\n\nBut Arteta has insisted it was not a mistake to let him leave mid-season.\n\n‘That’s easy to say,” Arteta said. ‘After making the decision, who could have predicted that Mikel was going to be out for five months and Kai?\n\n‘It’s unfortunate, at the end we have to make the decisions on the moment, understanding the context there.\n\n‘The best decision for the club, for Ethan, for sure it was for him to go and experience a different environment, have minutes played, and get ready to come back to us.’\n\nNwaneri didn’t start a league game for Arsenal this season (Picture: Getty)\n\nThe presence of Roberto De Zerbi also played a pivotal factor in the decision to send Nwaneri to Marseille with Premier League sides also interested in the young star.\n\nThe former Brighton boss left his post in France this week, however.\n\n‘Well, I cannot control that,’  Arteta said of De Zerbi’s departure.\n\n‘Again, it’s a decision and that’s part of playing on loan, and that’s part of a journey of a football player. So you’re going to have to work with different coaches, and that can happen any moment, you cannot control that, you cannot avoid that.’\n\nComment now Comments  Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source ",
  "title": "Mikel Arteta insists it was ‘best decision’ to let Arsenal star leave despite injury woes"
}