Reiss Nelson has been ruled out of Feyenoord’s UEFA Conference debut against Maccabi Haifa due to an ‘overstretching’.
Manager Arne Slot has tried to defend the player, who the Dutch media have accused of showing up not fit. Instead the coach insists it’s a consequence of training in Holland being more intense than England.
Some have translated that as criticism of Mikel Arteta but in reality, it’s a poor reflection on Nelson.
This loan will make or break his Gunners career, a final chance to prove his boss wrong. Arteta only started him twice in the Prem last season and seems to have lost faith in the winger.
The 21-year-old had a full pre-season and has come off the bench twice in this campaign so there is no reason for him not to be in top condition.
You get one chance to make a first impression and unfortunately this isn’t ideal for the midfielder.
Talent is not in question. You don’t graduate from our academy if you don’t have quality. What you need to show when you make the first team is personality. Do you believe you belong at this level?
Do you demand the ball, or do you hide?
Do you make the easy pass out of fear of getting things wrong?
For years we were told that, based on ability, Nelson was the one to watch from our youth set up. Ironically, he’s made the least progress, with Saka showing a fearless streak, Maitland Niles has played in Cup Finals and been capped, and Joe Willock used his loan spell to become a first-choice midfielder for Newcastle.
Even though all parties agreed to extend Nelson’s contract by a year you sense that was the club protecting his value.
What Arteta needs is to see something or hear feedback that will change his perception of the player.
Our head coach has a history of discarding individuals who he feels do not meet his values or ethos. It’s up to Reiss Nelson to change his mind.
Mr Slot not being impressed with the condition that Nelson has shown up in is not what Arteta wants to hear.
The Spaniard himself was critical of the level of fitness he found Emery had left the Gunners squad in. He demands a high intensity and there’s zero evidence to suggest we tire in games
When Arteta introduced a new regime in January 2020 which saw a tougher fitness schedule, Reiss Nelson’s body broke down then. a hamstring injury keeping him out for three months.
To clarify, the last two times he’s worked with new people with a high emphasis on intense training, his mind has been willing, but his body has not.
Mr Slot has simply confirmed the perception that Arteta has of the player.
If I was Reiss Nelson, I would have begged his temporary coach to not make his opinions public, because it makes his chances in North London even smaller than they already were.
The one thing he couldn’t afford Arteta to be told was that he’s finding training too intense. If he’s finding training in Holland too intense then how can he be expected to cope back in the UK.?
Already this move might have confirmed that Reiss Nelson can’t cope at this level.
The opposite of what a loan should do
Be Kind in The Comments
Dan
Too early to conclude, RN isn’t the first nor the last player who start a spell at a new club with injury problems. RN hasn’t been playing games regularly for a long time, and his body might need some time to cope with the situation.
This has no impact on his future with Arsenal. The only player MA and his team think can do a job is Patino, A 17 year old. Good as he is, he is nowhere near ready and should learn from the elders before going on loan.
Arsenal should not be a kindergarten, pure quality is the only requirement.
You can say that again Gunner.I know they will say if u r good enough you are old enough but the truth is you can win nothing with kids.
Artetas bad blood with most of senior players is the reason we are in this mess.
What a harsh article putting the blame solely on the player. Simpleton stuff. A number of factors are involved in the development of a player and weather or not they make it with the big boys. Sometimes it’s motivation,working on weaknesses and trying to improve on them. Nelson for all his agiility never seems to be able to deliver a decent pass, but then again Pepe isn’t much better. Sometimes it’s how you are managed either not being given opportunities at the right times. With Nelson, his managers tended to throw him in at the last moment when the game plan had already broken down and they were expecting wonder boy stuff from him.. Or you could be overplayed with no support from senior players as with Jack Wilshere where he was expected to put his body on the line for an entire season. Dan, your biggest.sin is that you are working overtime to validate every Arteta decision. “See, Nelson’s body can’t take it Mikael is right, Mikael is always right”.
lot of excuses mate
of course the player has to take ultimate responsibility
Can give you many examples where I have been critical of Arteta , will openly say we have gone backwards since Mr Wenger left
He’ll come back to Arsenal as Arteta’s stay in Arsenal is short-lived. Nelson, Seliba, Gouendouzi, Azeez, and Maitland-Niles are not Arteta’s favourites.
Yes, talent alone isn’t enough to succeed in sports. He’s highly skillful, but he seems slower than the other academy graduates in the first team
Hopefully he’s not going to be like Pennant or Bentley. There were too many talented players who never really recovered from their injuries, such as Shaun Wright-Phillips
Serious those who played football competitively will know this, you can run 50 miles a day and hit the gym 7 days a week, it still doesn’t make you match fit, you need to play at least 90minutes per week competitively for at least 4 weeks before you can be regarded match fit some players need even more time. It’s simple really the boy is not match fit due to a lack of game time, he cannot select himself, this scenario happens alot with players, who haven’t played competitively for a long time or are rushed back from injury.
Mike, too true about match fitness and game minutes in the legs.
I agree that he has not played regularly for a long time. That makes him struggle whenever he gets a chance, but he has the talent to be successful. Sadly enough, I still dont understand MA’s decision to loan him when he could have been used in Cup games. I only hope his loan move does not hamper his Arsenal chances, because one cannot conclude from a loan move under such circumstances and situations that are not helpful to a player. Also it is too early to draw conclusions on his loan move and I feel the manager should have been more careful before making comments public, keeping in mind he still has a future at Arsenal.
Focus on Patino rather than Wilshire, improve AMN
and rehabilitate Guenduzi, let Saliba take Holdings place
and we are good to go!! Buy Bissuma andBruno Guimares
in the next two windows. Sell Xhaka Leno and Nelson.
Maybe if Reece Nelson had cost £72 million, he may have been given more opportunities to play. He’s more of a team player than Pepe, and retains the ball better.
Nelson must obviously be your relative if you see all this in him………
So good he can not even prove himself on loan in smaller clubs below our standards
This loan could still be the making of Nelson, how he takes this opinion will hopefully make him knuckle down build up his strength and power in the gym as well as his mind set on the pitch.
I personally think Slot was having a dig at Arsenal’s training rather than Nelson as an individual. It’s been said before that English clubs take it too easy in training, having said that it’s also been said that English leagues are far more intense and much quicker than other leagues.
I think those statements are very true and explains many things. Let me put it this way,, What would you rather watch an intense training session or an intense match. As a player what would you rather be involved in?
For me, you can keep the Dutch league along with many other leagues, if their training is so good, how come the only real team that has ever had any sustained success is Ajax. Sure PSV have had a dabble, but even Feyernood really?
And give Edu’s job to kjelli.
Interesting interpretation. I feel maybe what Mr. Slot said also qbout our training might be true. This is not a criticism of MA but someone here said that fitness experts criticised Arsenal training due to not enough strength drills. Because I remember in training clips Nelson has coped up with MA’s training sessions. Feels more like your bias against the player tbh. Saka hasn’t been pulling trees has he?
To early to judge, did great in Germany, opposite since back
Totally mis-managed, bring him back was turning point to his décline.
Boy was tagged as next Sancho in a 5 month spell, flying.
Stopped at crucial development stage, instead to let him fly, keep it up…
Doubt any League more intense than EPL, Holland certainly not more than Germany he did find.
Terrible management, sign Pepe to start before him, then Willian to send him back with U23; 2 seasons & years waisted at such stage will crush, ruin a youngster.
Hope and sure he will bounce back and shine, Holland football suits him, play Europe and for title can only benefit him…
Too early ?
He made his debut 4 years ago !
He’s played 48 times for Arsenal
48 times is more then enough
Wasn’t that long ago, many on here were blaming AW for training the players too hard, resulting in the many injuries sustained by them…
Go figure 🤔
I copied and pasted………………………………….“Initial reports in the Netherlands suggested Nelson was lacking match fitness,” is also false. The manager has said, “Nelson had participated in almost all training sessions at Arsenal, but he experiences the training here as a bit more intense. He suffered an overuse injury and so he is not here. Whether he will make it to PSV remains to be seen. At least not as a starting player.”
In fact Feyenoord sporting director Frank Arnesen said he was very pleased to have gained Nelson on loan for a season, saying, “We’ve been following Reiss for months now,” said Arnesen. “Bringing him to Feyenoord in this transfer window was one of our priorities, so we are very happy that we’ve managed that and that we are able to welcome him.
“Reiss is a very creative striker, a rapid boy, good with his feet, who makes things very difficult for defenders in one-on-ones. We can really use a player like that in our forward line.”………………….I copied and pasted
I can bet you guys that Nelson will soon become the Sergy Gnabry in few years to come.
He just needs a coach that can help his confidence… But I doubt if he will make it in Arsenal colours.
Watch out for Nelson in few years.
I bet he won’t
Honesty is always the best thing. Like it or not Arsenal play at a very low intensity. Is this due to lesser training techniques? I don’t know….maybe. I have never seen an Arsenal group play at such deficient pace. I have thought for a couple if years about our lack of intensity and sideways football. That is the truth. The truth will always out though. The Arteta era leaves a lot to be desired.
A generally fine article, with just one nitpick of mine.
DAN talks about Nelson needing “personality.” I do not agree with that word, which is used incorrectly. I SEE ALL PLAYERS NEEDING CHARACTER AND WILL TO MAKE THE UTMOST OF THEIR CAREER.
“PERSONALITY” IS SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE ALL IMPORTANT WILL TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOURSELF.