MIKEL ARTETA is reportedly considering recalling Marquinhos back from his loan in January.
The Brazilian winger, 20, was sent out by Arsenal to French club Nantes in the summer.
GettyArsenal boss Mikel Arteta is considering recalling Marquinhos from his Nantes loan[/caption]
GettyMarquinhos has struggled for game time on his latest loan at Nantes[/caption]
But, he has one made one start for the Ligue 1 side and played a combined 88 minutes of top flight football.
The Gunners were hopeful that the youngster would benefit from regular game time.
However, Nantes have failed to provide that for Marquinhos, which will disappoint manager Arteta and sporting director Edu.
Nantes even allowed the wide-man to play in the Pan American Games in Chile with Brazil’s U23’s this month.
Greek giants Olympiakos were close to securing a loan deal for Marquinhos before Nantes swooped.
He was also discussed by Nottingham Forest, before the Premier League side opted for Nuno Tavares.
Italians Bologna, Empoli and Frosinone were all interested in signing Marquinhos.
The report by the Mirror says that Arteta is keen to bring him back to the Emirates if his situation at Nantes does not change.
Then, they will send him out elsewhere for first team experience.
Arsenal’s loan manager Ben Knapper, who is set to join Norwich City next month, is said to have been monitoring all Arsenal’s stars on loan with Edu.
It is unknown if both sides inserted a break clause into the contract, but a termination could still be possible if both sides agree it would benefit the player.
Marquinhos signed for Arsenal in 2022 for £3million.
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Memorably, he scored on his debut for the club in the 2-1 Europa League win over FC Zurich.
Last season, he joined Norwich City on loan in the January transfer window.
However, he failed to hit the heights expected – scoring just once in 11 games.