Nwaneri embarrassment explained as Arsenal boss Arteta holds private chat | Football | Sport

Arsenal solidified their lead in the Premier League title race with a decisive 3-0 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Following Manchester City’s win against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, Mikel Arteta’s team are six points ahead at the top of the Premier League as they aim to break their 22-year title drought.

As each game becomes increasingly important, the pressure is mounting as the Gunners gear up to face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Thursday evening. Here’s the latest news from the Emirates courtesy of Express Sport…

Nwaneri Marseille embarrassment

Given that Arteta’s squad has been shining in the Premier League so far, the decision was made during the January transfer window to loan out promising youngster Ethan Nwaneri to Ligue 1 club Marseille for vital first-team experience after limited senior opportunities earlier in the season.

However, the 18-year-old has had a challenging time after an initially promising start in France, as his team suffered a heavy defeat to title challengers PSG on Sunday.

Les Olympiens suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat, with Nwaneri being substituted at half-time for the second match in a row, much to his embarrassment. Roberto De Zerbi, the Marseille manager and former Brighton boss, defended his decision to pull the player out of the game, stating it was necessary to ‘shield’ the forward after his recent arrival at the club.

“As for Nwaneri, he wasn’t having a great night,” De Zerbi said. “He wasn’t getting much support from his team-mates. He needed to be protected, like all young players.”

A private conversation between Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Viktor Gyokeres has come to light. Arteta revealed what he told the Swedish striker when he informed him that he wouldn’t be starting the match against Sunderland.

The Spanish manager opted to start Gabriel Jesus, but Gyokeres came on in the second half, replacing Jesus in the 60th minute and scoring two goals.

After the match, Arteta revealed that he had planned for the £63.5million summer signing to come off the bench and make an impact.

Arteta told Viaplay Fotball: “He’s in a really good run at the moment. When he saw the line-up and he wasn’t in, his reaction was immediately… ready! I told him: ‘You’re going to be coming on and you can make a huge impact!'”.

When questioned by former Premier League striker turned Viaplay pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft about whether he’d stated precisely how long Gyokeres would feature, the Spaniard replied: “Not the exact minutes because I don’t know that.

“But the fact that he was going to play a big part and we’re going to need him to win the game.”