After a wobble over the festive period which has seen Arsenal drop down to fourth in the Premier League table, Mikel Arteta will want his side to get straight back to winning ways after this weekend’s FA Cup third round matches.
The Gunners face Liverpool in the famous old competition before taking on the likes of Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool again and then recent conquerors, West Ham, in the English top-flight.
Currently sitting five points behind the Reds, Arsenal’s need for points is obvious and they’ll need all hands on deck.
According to L’Equipe (h/t Get French Football News), 20-year-old Marquinhos, who was loaned to Ligue 1 side Nantes at the start of the 2023/24 season, will be returning to the club earlier than planned after the French side decided to terminate his loan.
Apparently the player wants to play in the CONMEBOL pre-Olympic tournament which isn’t recognised by FIFA and will mean he would have to spend time away from the club.
That’s not acceptable to them hence why the player, who has played a total of 149 minutes over seven games for Nantes, is being sent packing by them.
Quite how Arsenal will integrate him is unclear, with it almost certain therefore that they’ll look to loan him out again as quickly as possible.