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Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri faces an uncertain end-of-season run-in following Roberto De Zerbi's departure from Marseille. The French giants announced in the early hours of Wednesday morning that the Italian had left the club by mutual consent.

It's a blow for Nwaneri, given De Zerbi was believed to be a big reason why Arsenal chose Marseille as the youngster's destination. Fabrizio Romano even reported in January that Mikel Arteta had held private discussions with De Zerbi before deciding on Marseille as Nwaneri's "ideal solution" for the remainder of the campaign.

A damaging 5-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday, in which Nwaneri was hooked at half-time, was the final nail in the coffin. Marseille failed to advance in the Champions League following a 3-0 loss to Club Brugge, while a recent 2-2 draw at Paris FC was also disappointing.

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"Olympique de Marseille and Roberto De Zerbi, first-team coach, announce the end of their collaboration by mutual agreement," read a club statement. "Following discussions involving all stakeholders in the club's management – owner, president, director of football, and coach – it was decided to opt for a change at the helm of the first team.

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"This was a collective, difficult decision, made after careful consideration in the best interests of the club to meet the sporting challenges of the end of the season."

The decision to leave Marseille may have come as a shock, but the writing was perhaps on the wall for De Zerbi. A source close to the club had told L'Equipe this week: "It's going to blow up, everything's starting to fall apart."

The same report noted that "even his own players had begun to turn against him." Despite a clear show of support from certain senior stars amid the recent downturn in form, L'Equipe described De Zerbi's situation as "untenable" as he moved for the exit.

La Provence highlighted how Tuesday's afternoon training session had "a strange atmosphere" and that it "smelled like the end of an era." That perhaps goes double for Nwaneri, who could find himself in a difficult position between now and the end of the season.

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Given he's a loan signing with no permanent clause included in his deal, De Zerbi's successor may not buy his stock as the Italian did. And with no guarantee he'll give the club returns in the long run, the 18-year-old is at risk of losing his spot in the starting XI.

Regarding who will take the reins at the Stade Velodrome, RMC Sport reported Marseille will prioritise "a coach who understands this environment and Ligue 1." This is likely to be on a short-term contract until the end of the season.

That eventuality could, in fact, work in Nwaneri's favour. A short-term appointment would feasibly prioritise this season's results without much emphasis on long-term goals, giving a loan asset like him a better chance of game time between now and June.

Nwaneri scored on his Ligue 1 debut against Lens but has failed to have another direct goal involvement in three outings since then. The De Zerbi connection appeared to be working very much in the Gunners' favour, and his exit leaves the possibility for a precarious few months ahead.