Arsenal have almost exclusively focused on incomings in the transfer market as they have welcomed five new faces to the club. The latest arrival of Cristhian Mosquera follows the signings of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Nørgaard and Noni Madueke, all completed this month. Despite the heavy focus on signings, the club are widely expected to turn their attention to trimming the squad ahead of the new campaign. The futures of a few players need sorting out, with Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Oleksandr Zinchenko all heavily linked with exits in recent weeks. A player who has struggled throughout his senior Arsenal career is Reiss Nelson, and as such, he is a strong candidate to also depart the club.
Will Arsenal finally cut ties with Nelson?
The 25-year-old came through the ranks at Arsenal before making his first-team debut in the 2017-18 season. Once considered a promising talent with a bright future, Nelson has categorically failed to live up to expectations. Since making his debut, he has gone on to make 90 appearances for the club, scoring 8 goals along the way. He has also been on three separate loan spells with Fulham, Feyenoord and Hoffenheim. The latter was where he enjoyed his most productive campaign in terms of goals, scoring 7 in 29 appearances during the 2018-19 campaign. His latest loan spell with Fulham showed initial promise, but a season-ending injury picked up in December derailed his campaign. Currently back with the Gunners, it is widely expected that the pair will part ways permanently before the closure of the window. That said, and considering his impressive cameo against AC Milan in Singapore, should the Gunners reconsider their stance?
Did his Milan performance warrant another chance?
Judging by his brief performance against Milan, keeping hold of him could be justifiable. Considering there were still questionable displays from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, there may be a genuine case to retain Nelson instead. In his 11-minute cameo, the former Hale Ender created two chances, completed 91 percent of his passes and came close to doubling Arsenal’s lead. He showed promise with his dribbling and directness as well, impressing those in attendance.
Do not get me wrong, his performance did not set the world alight, and even if it had, it would not fully justify keeping a player who has struggled for so long. That said, an impactful display like that should surely count for something. It is still highly likely the Gunners will sell, but should they consider otherwise?
Thoughts in the comments below much appreciated.
Benjamin Kenneth
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No space for him in the squad, he won’t even make the bench with all our players at the moment
OT. Been a couple of weeks now since we signed Olivia Smith, the first female 1 million pounds player. Was expecting an article for such a massive milestone achieved by our club as one of the pacesetters in women’s football.
About Nelson, if he can stay injury free that might help him get a chance somewhere else in the epl if not Arsenal. I think the constant injuries has been a major hindrance to his evolution as a player.
https://www.justarsenal.com/official-arsenal-women-complete-record-breaking-signing-of-olivia-smith/396797
👍🏽
I think it’s too late for him now especially if we sign a new winger.
Well, we signed Madueke whose best position is right wing and he’s streets ahead of Nelson. I’d expect Nwaneri is also ahead of Nelson when we need third cover. So yeah, it’s too late.
Gyokeres is our new number 14
Arsenal would likely ship him out since he struggled with his fitness again last season
Romano said Arsenal asked about Rodrygo’s and Eze’s situation last month, so they must’ve been looking for a new inverted LW
@ Eze all the way…
He could easily be a game changer in some matches. He is very good with the ball at his feet Rodrygo is a good winger but he may finds it difficult to cope with Epl physicality.
Though just one pre-season match, Nelson performed better than Matinelli/Trossard when he came on in second half.. if fit I think he can challenge the two of them.
Batar doing well buying players for Arsenal but I want to see if he can also sell.
If Eze was pacey enough to be an LW, I think Crystal Palace wouldn’t have assign him in the AM position
He’s skillful, but I’d prefer Arsenal to sign a younger LW like Doku, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo
Luis Diaz is older, but he’s more proven in the LW position as compared to AMs like Eze
@Gai
No , hes no where close to being good enough
Agree Dan – how long and how many chances does he need?
I’m sure he’ll be fine with a “lower” PL or “top” Championship side, but, with our activity in the transfer window, it’s obvious our club is aiming higher.
Agree also, Dan. He’d be 4th choice at right wing for us now. Maybe 5th. No space for him anymore.
Nelson was the best young player we had a few years ago, but injuries have slowed his career down, i would still keep him and see if he can finally fulfill his promise.
Yes! I think he should have been part of the team, but for some reason the management don’t seem to rate him. Strange, considering Madueke is highly rated to the point we spent that much on him and he’s part of the new signings to “take us another level”.
Madueke is better than Nelson as a backup to Saka, it’s really just that simple.
Nelson play in the left. At the moment I see him
with better qualities than Martinelli.
Keep Madueke on the right.