Arsenal reach 'agreement in principle' for Brazilian wonderkid

Stuart Telford

• 8 Aug 2023 04:29 CDT
• 3 min read

Arsenal and Nantes have reached an 'agreement in principle' for the Gunners to loan Brazilian youngster Marquinhos to the Ligue 1 side, according to l'Equipe.

Arsenal have been busy in the summer transfer window, signing Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber from West Ham, Chelsea and Ajax respectively, but things are beginning to get moving in the opposite direction too.

Having spent more than £200 million on new players, Arsenal need to move others on for more than one reason, be it balancing the books or simply giving young players more first-team opportunities elsewhere, and it is the latter than will happen with Marquinhos.

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The Brazilian youngster joined Arsenal in a €3.5m move from Sao Paulo last July but was largely restricted to Premier League 2 appearances - where he enjoyed four goals and two assists in five games - before seeing out the second half of last season on loan with Norwich.

Marquinhos' loan to Nantes

And now he will play for Ligue 1's 'Canaris' instead of the Championship's Canaries, according to l'Equipe.

"[The signing of] Arsenal left winger Marquinhos (20) is getting closer," they report. "An agreement in principle has been reached between the Gunners and Nantes for a loan without an option to make the Brazilian's move permanent."

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Arsenal sporting director Edu is understood to have high hopes for his compatriot, and he will remain part of the Brazilian contingent at the Emirates alongside Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes next season.

Arsenal have so far made more than £20m back in player sales this summer, with Granit Xhaka leaving for Bayern Leverkusen, Auston Trusty to Sheffield United and Pablo Mari to Monza. The loan fee for Marquinhos has not been confirmed, however.

Arsenal have a positive recent history of loaning players to Ligue 1. Academy graduate Folarin Balogun scored 21 goals in 37 games for Reims last term, while William Saliba broke into the France squad when at Marseille before returning to become a first-team regular last summer.2