Ethany Nwaneri could line up against Arsenal for Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, 24 November, and Uefa's rules allow it. The 19-year-old is on a season-long loan in Germany, and the BBC's explainer says loan players can face their parent clubs in European competition.
Uefa's loan rule
BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team put it simply: "Unlike league rules in the English football pyramid, Uefa does allow players who are out on loan to play against their parent clubs when the two sides meet in European competitions." The same explainer adds: "That means Nwaneri could feature for Dortmund when they take on the Gunners."
Nwaneri has already made 6 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund and played 332 Bundesliga minutes this season. In the Champions League, he has 2 appearances and 85 minutes, so this would not be a case of a player waiting for a first taste of the competition.
The wider Champions League pattern
The BBC says Nwaneri is one of 12 players in this season's Champions League who are on loan between two clubs competing in the tournament. Only three of those 12 were initially in position to face their parent club, and two of those cases have already happened.
Lutsharel Geertruida featured for loan club PSV Eindhoven against parent side RB Leipzig earlier this month, while Robert Ljubicic played against parent club AEK Athens in the opening round of league-phase fixtures. That leaves Nwaneri as the one still waiting on the specific matchup with Arsenal, with Dortmund sitting 16th in the league phase on 6 points from 3 matches and Arsenal 9th on 7 points from 3 matches.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
