Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri is travelling to undergo a medical ahead of a proposed deadline day loan move to Borussia Dortmund.
The attacking midfielder is set to join the Bundesliga club on a straight loan deal with no buy option, with all parties deciding this was the right opportunity for the 19-year-old to obtain more regular game time.
The Bundesliga side’s interest in the player pre-dates the anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered by new signing Giannis Konstantelias, who is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Following the injury to Konstantelias, Dortmund contacted Nwaneri’s side about his arrival as a priority, speaking to him about their project with a club-to-club arrangement then agreed.
Nwaneri was left out of the squad for Arsenal’s 3-0 victory in the Community Shield over Manchester City and their 1-0 Premier League win against Aston Villa on Monday, while he was an unused substitute in the win over Coventry City in their opening league game.
The teenager spent the second half of last season on loan at French side Marseille, where he appeared 11 times and scored twice.
Nwaneri’s immediate Arsenal future has been uncertain, with head coach Mikel Arteta saying in August that he wants Nwaneri to remain at the club, but that he “needs to play football”, adding that “certain players” may need to leave this summer.
Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard and Max Dowman all provide competition for minutes in Arsenal’s attacking midfield positions, alongside summer signing Bruno Guimaraes.
Nwaneri is a product of Arsenal’s youth system and became the youngest player to play in a Premier League game when he made his debut aged 15 years, five months and 28 days against Brentford in September 2022.
He has made 51 appearances in total for Arsenal, scoring 10 goals and providing two assists.
A move that makes sense for all parties
Analysis by The Athletic’s Arsenal correspondent James McNicholas
The injury to Konstantelias should afford Nwaneri considerable playing time in the Bundesliga. Arsenal will hope his loan proves to be more fruitful than last season’s stint at Marseille, in which managerial turnover created significant instability and reduced Nwaneri’s playing time.
Arsenal gave consideration to selling Nwaneri both last summer and during this window, but ultimately preferred to send him out on loan.
That has a two-fold benefit for Arsenal: first of all, it gives him an opportunity to develop, and improve his chances of returning to north London as a first-team player. Equally, a successful loan could see Nwaneri’s value improve — it made little sense to sell him off the back of an underwhelming loan to Ligue 1.
Arteta has spoken of Nwaneri’s excellent attitude and desire to improve. A stint with Dortmund should provide the perfect platform to do just that.