Ethan Nwaneri joins Borussia Dortmund on loan

[u/Shyam_Wenger]

https://www.arsenal.com/news/ethan-nwaneri-joins-borussia-dortmund-on-loan-aQN7v3e8JvAT

[u/Shyam_Wenger]

Arsenal will have a January recall clause for Ethan Nwaneri - James Benge

[u/AfricanRain → u/Shyam_Wenger]

This loan is so heavily weighted in our favour that I fear they won’t use him that much

[u/SrsJoe → u/AfricanRain]

They're allegedly paying his wages so it would pointless for them not to

[u/LionZoo13 → u/SrsJoe]

Are they also paying us a loan fee?

[u/TallnFrosty → u/LionZoo13]

I googled it and the internet said yes, but it wasn't a super reliable source

[u/ThaGodTohim → u/TallnFrosty]

The loan fee (5m) is to cover the wages I presume

[u/TallnFrosty → u/ThaGodTohim]

Arsenal will receive a €5m loan fee for Ethan Nwaneri’s move to Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund will also cover the 19-year-old’s full salary during his season-long loan.

Also pretty sure Nwaneri is only on like £50k a week. I know there were a higher figures floating around out there but those come from crap sources.

[u/LionZoo13 → u/TallnFrosty]

Considering those terms, this loan feels like a really good deal for us as long as they play him.

[u/TallnFrosty → u/LionZoo13]

yea - still need confirmation from a good source

honestly wouldn't shock me if we didnt' get a big loan fee (i do consider 4-5 million to be big) bc i think we're desperate for nwaneri to just be in the right situation.

[u/TuffB80 → u/TallnFrosty]

Looks like a big win win.

[u/odegood → u/AfricanRain]

They have injuries so even if he gets a few starts and some subs appearances then he will play a lot more than here

[u/arsehenry14 → u/AfricanRain]

I think we learned from last years loan with him that we can’t let any players just languish at another club, so we here to have the ability to recall. Granted it should only be used where we are in dire need or they just aren’t playing

[u/amineimad → u/AfricanRain]

I asked BvB fans on r/soccer and they seemed to echo he'd start, he's only one of three options, of course he'd get game time at right #10 at times even with Karetsas in the team, etc. Couldn't help but feel his place in the starting XI being assured was kinda oversold.

I'm scared or a repeat of OM where everything goes wrong, but the conditions at Dortmund do seem way better. It's the start of the season so they have 8 games in the CL at the very minimum coming up. The star they have playing right #10 is only 18 years old so it's impossible he'd play 90s every week either right? The position (wide 10s) is tailor made for him.

I think a large portion of how much Nwaneri is used is down to how good he plays. Everything is set up for him to explode and get the gametime he deserves. If he underwhelms and doesn't play much, Dortmund won't be to blame for it.

[u/boatinavolcano → u/AfricanRain]

It is that way, because Dortmund desperately need cover and we took advantage of that desperation.

[u/kaprrisch → u/AfricanRain]

Dortmund need a body because one of their new signings immediately tore his ACL. Nwaneri will play.

[u/AfricanRain → u/kaprrisch]

The problem is that Karetsas plays in his position and they’ll obviously prioritise the player they own. Maybe Nwaneri has to play as the left 10 and that’s good for his development but it’s a worry for me.

[u/ThaGodTohim → u/AfricanRain]

This specific fear is exactly what the recall clause is for

[u/not_a_Badger_anymore → u/AfricanRain]

Why would they loan him on our terms and pay his wages not to use him?

[u/JFedererJ → u/Shyam_Wenger]

Softens the blow a bit.

[u/inspaceiamfamous]

The best loan for him. Around young English players as well. I feel this is a last chance saloon for him (near term wise ofc). More so, a huge inflection point in his career.

Go and shine prince.

[u/Chemistry-Deep]

I am surprised we let him go when we didn't get another attacker in, just from a bodies point of view.

[u/ThaGodTohim → u/Chemistry-Deep]

Wasn’t on the bench last night, if his development is important to us then it’s the right move

[u/jaybizzleeightyfour → u/Chemistry-Deep]

LW options - Tzolis, Eze & Madueke

RW options - Saka, Madueke and Dowman

In central attacking positions, we have Rice, Odegaard, Bruno, Eze, Merino and Havertz

He's behind them all in the pecking order and really can't afford another season on the bench

[u/Tiadrop48 → u/Chemistry-Deep]

We’ll have 9 forwards + Guimaraes for the front 4 positions. That’s fine numbers-wise, Nwaneri would be missing matchday squads most weeks.

[u/Chemistry-Deep → u/Tiadrop48]

Yeah that's fair, its a bit of a toss up.

[u/Left_Breakfast7610]

Good luck boy 🫶🫶🫶

[u/Domkey-Kongg]

Maybe I only see the ones that work out but it seems like if Dortmund want to take your youngster on loan you listen, their talent scouting and youth development always seems to bang

[u/Shyam_Wenger]

Mods - I've seen the post from Arsenal after this. Feel free to remove this.

[u/studioghost14]

So we are down 3 attackers. Martinelli and Jesus who combined for 17 goals and 9 assists in 2025/26, and Ethan who scored 9 goals and 2 assists in 2024/25. Where will those goals/assists come from this season?

[u/ihave389iq → u/studioghost14]

M9 has come back from the ashes stronger than ever and will score 40 in all comps

[u/JFedererJ → u/studioghost14]

• Kai, who missed Aug - Feb last season (7 months)
• Merino, who missed Jan - May last season (5 months)
• Saka, who also missed massive chunks of last season
• Ødegaard, who also missed big chunks of last season
• Guimarães, who provided 9G 8A for Newcastle last season
• Dowman, who will likely play more PL mins this season

To replace the 17G 9A we lost from Martinelli and Jesus, the above would each need to proved (aprox.) 3G and 0.3A over this season, to make up the difference. That's +3 on last season for Kai, Merino, Saka & Øde, +2 for Max and (as he's new) 3 goals from Bruno G.

I think we'll be ok.

The transfer market really does "blind" people with tunnel vision. Zoom out and see how good our squad is.

[u/studioghost14 → u/JFedererJ]

Good answer. Hope you’re right and they all stay healthy.

[u/JFedererJ → u/studioghost14]

I mean in the case of Kai and Merino, they can and will have usual niggles and injuries, but hopefully nothing that wipes out over half the season for them.

[u/ConsequenceLive2442 → u/JFedererJ]

No injuries this season. Lucky us.

[u/JFedererJ → u/ConsequenceLive2442]

There are gradations between "no injuries" and a player missing over half the season.

[u/ConsequenceLive2442 → u/JFedererJ]

Ha ha

[u/know-it-all-scoutFC → u/studioghost14]

Respectfully, nearly 1/3 of those 17 goals and 9 assist was scored against Wigan, Maccasfield, and Portsmouth in the FA cup. We'll be fine.

[u/ZebraZealousideal944 → u/know-it-all-scoutFC]

Not only that but he also chose to pick 2 different seasons to better fit his narrative… haha

[u/studioghost14 → u/ZebraZealousideal944]

I don’t have some personal “narrative”. It was a genuine question. Chose the prior season for Nwaneri because that’s when he played for us.

[u/money-caterpillar369]

It seems he will have to pivot to left?

[u/YonkoDD]

i hated the thought of us selling him, hope this loan works out and he develops into a better player, that marseille loan was so bad

[u/FoxMcCloudOwnsSlippy]

Dortmund is a proven place for development of young players. Hope he gets to play a lot and smash it.

[u/professor-chaos19]

Best loan for him, hopefully he comes back a much better player

[u/Rocketsloth]

Is it too early to recall him? Guys?

[u/bakugou-kun]

Big opportunity for Nwaneri let's go. Hope he proves me wrong. I like watching Dortmund sometimes so I'll be watching

[u/Tomieez]

Why, we need squad depth

[u/doubleb_43 → u/Tomieez]

You know how stacked our midfield is? There's no room for Ethan at the moment. BVB will give him a lot of playing time

[u/studioghost14 → u/doubleb_43]

Ethan can play on the wing though.

[u/JK031191 → u/studioghost14]

He's behind Saka, Madueke and Dowman. When is he going to play?

[u/studioghost14 → u/JK031191]

You don’t think he can compete with Madueke and Dowman? Arteta also once said Ethan can play from the left side.

[u/JK031191 → u/studioghost14]

Let's be honest, he's not going to play LW.

And Madueke and Dowman are simply enough ahead of him as things stand.

I hope things work out for him at Dortmund so he can come back a better player and earn himself a spot in the team.

[u/doubleb_43 → u/studioghost14]

Nobody at the club sees him as a winger

[u/Tiadrop48]

Hopefully he can do well at left 10. Given his playstyle I’m not optimistic.

[u/Tiemen10]

The amount of pressure tzolis will be under has never been seen before

[u/fireowlzol → u/Tiemen10]

Nwaneri has never played LW for us lol