Going out on loan spells can play a huge part in the development of a young footballer. Exceptional youngsters are believed to gain more benefit from playing competitive first-team football at a lower level than they would by competing in youth teams or sitting on the bench.
Not that we like to mention a player with such strong connections to a certain other team, but Harry Kane’s loan spell at Millwall, where he was named the Lions’ Young Player of the Year in 2011/12, definitely helped make the England star the player he is today. Another Three Lions hero, Jordan Pickford, also had key loans with several clubs, including Carlisle, Bradford and Preston, before really proving his worth with Sunderland.
Loans can be used in a range of different ways, though, including simply getting a player off the wage bill at the parent club, putting someone in the shop window or even as an extended “trial” ahead of a possible permanent move. Over the course of the 2025/26 campaign, Arsenal had several players out on loan. Some of those fell into each of the different categories, and here we take a look at some of the most interesting ones and how the loan spells went.
Ethan Nwaneri – Marseille, Ligue 1, 11 Appearances
Nwaneri is a name familiar to all Gunners and indeed most English football fans. Born in Islington in 2007, he is still, somehow, just 19 years old. He made his Arsenal debut all the way back in 2022 and remains the youngest player in PL history – even younger than Max Dowman!
Capped 15 times by the England U21 team, for whom he has scored five goals, he was called up into the senior England squad for the first time against New Zealand ahead of the 2026 World Cup and was one of four youngsters Thomas Tuchel invited to join the squad proper in pre-tournament preparations.
Despite this recognition with the England squad, the last 18 months or so have been tough for a player who seemed destined for greatness. Nwaneri may yet fulfil his potential, but his career has definitely stalled after he broke all sorts of records prior to turning 18. At the start of the 2025/26 season, the Gunners tied him to a new contract after he made 37 appearances in all competitions in 2024/25, netting nine goals.
However, for a range of reasons, not all of which are clear, he made just 12 appearances for Arsenal in 2025/26, half of those in cups, before joining Marseille on loan in January 2026. A day after moving to France and 13 minutes into his loan spell, he scored. He went on to make 11 appearances for the Ligue 1 side and scored twice. He played 322 minutes of league football and a further 90 in the French Cup, coming off the bench in seven of the 11 games. For five of the final six league games, he remained on the bench, and his future at Arsenal is unclear, with all options currently on the table.
Jakub Kiwior – Porto, Primeira Liga, 26 Appearances
Arsenal’s official website lists Kiwior’s move to Portuguese giants Porto as the “most successful” of the 2025/26 crop. The Polish 26-year-old is in a different position to Nwaneri and was just eager to get some football and show what he could do. Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Kiwior possibly felt he needed a move in order to press his claims for inclusion in Poland’s squad.
In the end, his nation missed out on qualification, losing in the play-offs to Sweden, but the defender will feel his decision to move out on loan was vindicated. He helped his loan club win the title, amassing 88 points and conceding a mere 18 goals in their 34 games.
He played all-but two of his games in central defence, where he feels most comfortable, but was clearly way down in the pecking order at the Emirates. He joined on the 1st of September and made his league debut on the 13th of the month. He played the full 90 minutes of almost all games he was available for and was a big hit with the club.
The loan deal featured an obligation to buy, and Porto reportedly triggered this on the 5th of May 2026. He officially joined on the 1st of July for a fee of around £15m with up to £4m in add-ons.
Fabio Vieira – Hamburg, Bundesliga, 31 Appearances
Portuguese midfielder Vieira joined Arsenal from Porto in 2022 and in all has played 49 matches for the Gunners. 33 of those came in a promising first campaign, and although he only netted twice, given his young age – he only turned 26 on the 30th of May this year – it was a promising start to his career at the Emirates.
Unfortunately, his development stalled a little, both with club and country: he has 14 goals from his 25 Portugal U21 appearances but is yet to play for the senior side. He was in a preliminary 55-player squad ahead of the 2022 World Cup but missed out on a full cap, which is looking further and further away.
He moved to Hamburg on a season-long loan deal at the start of September last year and overcame a terrible start to have a good campaign. Sent off twice in his first five appearances for the newly promoted side, he eventually played 31 times for the Germans, his seven goals and six assists helping them to a solid midtable finish.
He also played over 2,400 minutes of football, which is around a third more than he managed in his entire Arsenal career. He is unlikely to return to the Gunners, with Hamburg keen to sign him, though a return to the Premier League could also be on the cards, while former side Porto are also interested.
Reiss Nelson – Brentford, Premier League, 14 Appearances
Nelson is at a point in his career where he needs to be playing regular football, and so a permanent move away from Arsenal seems likely this summer. He has been with the Gunners since 2008, but has never really looked like he would cement a place in the starting XI. He made his Premier League debut for the club in 2017/18 and made 17 league appearances the following season. However, 90 appearances spread over eight seasons with the club, with many of those from the bench, are not what the Londoner would have dreamed of as a boy.
Last term, he made 10 appearances for the Bees in the league and a further four in the domestic cups, managing a single goal. A return to Fulham, where he played 12 games on loan in 2024/25, is a possibility.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – Nottingham Forest, Premier League, 10 Appearances
Zinchenko was an early signing in the Arteta revolution, but after reduced playing opportunities, moved to Forest on loan for the season on the 1st of September. He then moved to Ajax on a permanent, though short-term, deal. However, on his home debut for the Dutch giants, he suffered a knee injury which ruled him out for the rest of the season. He is now a free agent.