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