Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson, who is currently on loan in Germany with Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, has revealed why he was dropped just over two weeks ago for disciplinary reasons. It turns out that Nelson was late for training, a mistake of his own making and the youngster has been man enough to apologise and confirm that he will learn from this error of judgement.
“I was late to training, I was 20 minutes late, and that’s something I need to learn from,” Nelson told Press Association Sport as reported in the Express.
“You can make mistakes but it’s your job and you shouldn’t be late.
“I held my hand up and I said sorry to him [Hoffenheim manager Julian Nagelsmann] and we both moved on as bigger men.
“He put me in the squad the next week because I’d been doing well.”
Good, and the best part of this is that it did actually happen, it is all part of the learning curve of being a professional footballer and it is better that the teenager learns this while he is still young, it will make him a better footballer because it has shown him that it is not all about what you do on the field of play but how you conduct yourself off the field as well.
The 19-year-old is an immense talent and he has now shown maturity, which is a big part of his development, this is one of the reasons we loan out these youngsters, it gives them an opportunity to experience all the different aspects of being a professional footballer which they cannot get at Academy level with us, they need a first team environment with all the positives and negatives that come with it.
To me, this is a good story that can only help us, it means that when Nelson finally returns he will return as not just a better footballer, but as a better professional.
Sam P
If he returns that is, just saying……..
being an optimist are we…er’
I hope he keeps working hard like Sancho
Nelson could be Arsenal’s surprise weapon at the beginning of next season, because he is relatively unknown to EPL defenders
we are also lucky that we sent him there, they have one hell of a manager who will develop nelson for us…to my surprise this loan is one of the few ones in the past years that has been carefully considered..very happy with the lad and the club hope his development continues. 🙂
“we are also lucky that we sent him there, they have one hell of a manager who will develop nelson for us…” Which is funny considering so many on here were extremely unhappy when he was being linked as a potential Wenger replacement.
great manager to me, he will develop talent that’s for sure, will give you his track record if that’s what your asking?…as for me i don’t go with the masses i’ll call it how i see it, top 5 manager in the bundesliga for sure!!
ps: alot weren’t happy with emery either some still don’t rate him, many said arteta is not at manager level yet whilst in my humble opinion mikel would be a great manager, in life always follow your instincts, so i’ll leave you with this man: “That desire which is in us all to better other people’s condition by having them think as we think” 🙂
Hey Sal, been a lil busy and haven’t had time to reply till now but anyway I’m sorry about that lil gender misunderstanding yesterday lol don’t know why I thought you’re a chic, but yeah hopefully you weren’t offended by that.
alex no way would that offend me, lol all good here…take care of yourself and hope to catch you on the forum soon mate 🙂
Our boy is growing up to be a man, which is very good. I don’t see why he won’t return to us. He’s ours, has a contract with us and has said many times how he wants to prove what he can do in our colours.
What that boy. He is going to be a superstar. Mark my words.
*Watch. Overzealousness in your face!
Reiss Nelson v Callum Hudson-Odoi
That’s honestly great to hear. Having the right mentality is what can elevate good players into great players.
I would echo the many sensible comments on here and also think publicly apologising is the mark of a mature and good person. A young person, or older one for that matter, who has never needed to apologise at times does not exist. I guess we are all excited about what young Reisss might become at our beloved club. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HIM BACK WITH US!
I can’t wait as well Jon, he may be a little light in his frame but if he keeps up his determination to be the best he can be, then I can see him overcoming that and being more of a threat because of his agility and dexterity. A player with a slim frame but hopefully won’t be weedy, right? 🙂
I think a season loan in the EPL next might be good, try to get him into a team where he will be a regular player, 25+ games type of thing. I wouldn’t put it past him to challenge Iwobi next season tho, depends on who we get in the transfer window.
Interesting point you make about “weediness”, midkemma, which is partly physical but mostly mental, IMO. Football history is littered with slim players who have been fearsome opponents , through having the heart of a lion.
I’d say it’s one hundred percent mental, unless by partly, you mean people with series physical concerns/conditions. I’ve seen giants, like huge lads, being so afraid of taking a hit that it was unbelievable. I’ve seen midgets, not literal, them being the hardiest little fockers that it was just unbelievable.
I would accept your point were it about life in general but in football you have to assume that nearly all players and thus most opponents are tough hombres. So if one is very slim and lightweight it is common to come off second best in a muscle battle, ie shielding the ball in the corner area, when trying to run down the clock. So to me, at least in football , it is certainly IN PART anyway, physical. But MOSTLY mental, I would agree. And it is certainly true that a lion hearted liitle one can beat a timid bigger one most of the time.
I know you like that term for Theo 😛
Nelson could become weak like that but with the right attitude he can overcome that hurdle.
@BOT
If it was anyone else other than Jon, I wouldn’t have used the word weedy, I kinda get what Jon means by it though and I just used a term I felt he would appreciate.
Torreira looks like one of those smaller tough guys, his physical side has helped him in his early EPL life which is great, once he learns to read the EPL then he could be a tiny giant 😛
Like Cazorla, a tiny giant 🙂
I’ve been excited by Nelson for a few years now, he just has this wow factor, if he learns to work hard now in his loan then it will help him with Emery hard training, with luck that’ll help him become an exceptional talent for many years.
Once Nelson gets that comfortable composure on the ball against men then that is when we will see him truly become a man… and the rest of the world better watch out 😀
I wouldn’t go overboard about it, or I don’t want to, but there is no excuse for pro footballers to just show up late. It’s only a few hours training and you don’t need to rise at the crack of dawn, it’s bad manners doing this esp if you are a young player heading out somewhere to get ready for a club like Arsenal. Emery wouldn’t have liked this at all, I don’t think he would’ve done it if he was meeting up with Emery. I’m sure they situated him very close to the grounds and training facility, most people could probably walk the distance and not be late. With people at the top of industries, this is perceived as a bad character trait, if he had an excuse well then they wouldn’t have given this any thought because he’d have made them aware of it beforehand. I’m sure some people are probably thinking it’s nothing, it can happen to the best of us, but actually no, the best of us are punctual and respectful people. I wouldn’t put this down as a learning curve, he knew of instances like this from long ago, this is not something that he is only made aware of after the offence.
Break-on-Through, I’m all for punctuality, reliability, being respectful and good manners, but aren’t you going overboard?
He’s admitted he was wrong, apologised to the manager (who accepted it with good grace) and says he will learn from it.
It’s not as if he was caught out partying the night before a big match, or smoking in the showers is it?
At nineteen years of age, if he’s mature enough to actually apologise and admit he’s done wrong, it bodes well for his future.
Ken, That’s pretty much how I see things too. To err is human and to forgive divine , as the old and sesnsible saying goes. And I very much doubt B-O-T has actual knowledge of the true reason why he was late. Even I did not judge Walcotts laziness – or perhaps more accurately a reluctance to get involved in the argy bargy of the game, as someone on here rather shrewdly put it recently – on ONLY ONE perf back in 2008.
I get what both of you are saying and I expected just about everyone else – being in agreement with you two. A learning curve though, I’m sorry but I just don’t see it that way. He is young but he is not adolescent young, he’s a young man, in all the years at Arsenal I would expect this to happen at-least once or twice, then receiving a slap on the wrist or possible fine. His first season abroad under a new manager, that is different, he needs to show that manager more respect, they are trying to help him on our behalf, so yes I would say that it is very bad manners.
That’s the point Jon, there was no excuse, as he was just 20 minutes late, if there was an excuse then we wouldn’t be hearing about it. I read about this before reading the piece in here.
How do you know he wasn’t late by 20 mins for Arsenal in previous years and never got punished?
“Wright revealed that Arsenal have been forced to fetch players from their houses, with some members of the squad calling in sick to avoid training. ‘You’re hearing young players coming into the squad, turning up late for training,’ the former striker said. ‘People are having to go to their houses to get them to come to training.”
Maybe, just maybe… Not all our kids was punctual and punished for being late.
If so, then what Nelson went through may be a new experience, being punished for being late… making it a learning curve.