What should Arsenal do with Reiss Nelson? Sell or loan?

The Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson looked like a hot prospect a couple of years ago and had a very impressive loan spell with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, but last season, after a promising start, the 21 year-old’s progress was hampered by inopportune injuries.

His chances were further reduced by the arrival of Willian last summer and then the likes of Bukayo Saka, Smith-Rowe and Martinelli breaking through also restricted his game time.

In the whole of the season, the winger has just two appearances in the league, with a further seven coming in Europa League group stages, EFL, FA Cup and Community Shield, and he must surely now be thinking he has to leave Arsenal if he is ever going to get regular playing time.

As Arteta told Football London a few weeks ago when asked about Nelson: “I would like to give him more. He’s a boy who tries really hard, he trains every day. It’s very difficult at the moment with the players we have to be able to fit in. I feel sorry because he deserves more. He doesn’t play more and that’s my fault.”

So if he couldn’t find room for him this season, is it likely to be different next season? It must be making it hard for Arteta to decide what to with Nelson, but for me the obvious thing would be to find him a loan club. But to be honest, we haven’t even heard many rumours that other clubs have been making enquiries, although Olympiakos has been mentioned a few times as a possible destination.

What do you think Arteta should do with Nelson?

Tags Nelson

48 Comments

  1. If he was going to make a breakthrough at arsenal he would have done it by now, it’s no use us keep loaning him out every season we should just sell him

    1. Agree.Perhaps we could use him and the likes of AMN and Nketiah as makeweights in deals with Brighton and Norwich for our known targets such as Bissouma and Buendia.

      1. Buendia am sure is no better player than Nelson, he needs more time to establish himself. My opinion is to give him chance to prove himself if he doesn’t get it right within two seasons, he should go.

        1. Nelson needs more playing time he ,is good and plays exactly like Ronaldo.will love to see him next season.

    2. I disagree.

      We have seen that arteta is clearly poor at choosing his team. ESR was only chosen through injury and covid and made a instant impact. Doesnt mean nelson could or couldn’t just means the manager is either poor of has favs u decide.

      I think is we do go in for mahrez or sterling like what is being said he needs to go and find football elsewhere

      A good few loans in a first team in the prem or something could see him flourish.

      My verdict loan as we didn’t actually see him play we got willian instead.

      1. Arteta did actually give nelson his chances. Nelson let himself down

        the best example I can remember is a common thing in his highlight reel. When he run through midfield in the Europa, beat his man with an amazing step over, the missed a chance to to let willian through which would have had him clean through. Dribbling isn’t enough . Even if he’s good

        I think we can raise 10 to 15m from him. I would hold out for 15m or not sell him

      2. WILLIAN has hammered the progress of tee youngsters. He has caused a lot of damegeby his arrival. Turning AFC to an old people s home.

  2. Nobody should make the mistake of selling off this grossly underplayed underrated guy. I’ve said my own.

    Let them sell Aubameyang and Lacazette first

  3. Well MA doesn’t rate him and if we are stuck with him as a manager we should sell Nelson, the same applies for all of the players not getting game time.

    Otherwise all of these fringe players contracts will run out and we’ll be getting nothing for them. We’ve already lowered the value on quite a few of these players due to no one even seeing them play.

  4. We should sell Reiss, Eddie, AMN, Saka, ESR and Martinelli. These players all really have a good work ethic, have been good teammates and really bought in the being Arsenal, but unfortunately none have or will have the quality needed. They’re all around $10-20MM players and none are equivalent to or better then others playing currently or in the last 20 years. For instance would you claim Saka or Eddie is even equal to Pires or Bergkamp or Cesc even RVP? Of course not so they should be sold.

    1. And if you got aforementioned, will Kroenke and Sport Enterprise assist AFC with reasonable amount to replaced all those players with upgrade version of them? Absolutely NO, So we rather stick with those folks and hope MA can eventually processed the ingredients (players) at hands to fine good products (under 1 or more seasons). With situation on ground at AFC, no fans should expect much from the team (Top 6 should be seen as achievement next season).

    2. Ted, thank goodness you’re not involved in running the Club.
      Arsenal should be optimizing the progression of players from the Academy, who have come through the system together. ESR, Saka, Balogun and Willock are proof of the quality of the talent available. Arsenal can’t afford more wasting of talent like Gnabry.

  5. Ideally we should sell him , not loan him , for whatever he will fetch. Constantly loaning and loaning again and again the same player who has still not made the grade is pointless and actually harmful to our club.

    We MUST get him gone and even accept a far too low fee, given his relative youth, RATHER THAN loan him again and again and again, all uselessly. IMO he has long ago proved he will not now reach the level we need. Covid effects have destroyed the transfer market in fees paid BUT that works in both directions.
    Really, RN is little but a makeweight and what TRULY MATTERS is fundamentally changing our decade long appalling transfer record for both in and outs.

  6. OUT

    Bellerin
    Torreira
    Willian
    Runarsson
    Niles
    Nelson
    Mavroporas
    Guendouzi
    Nketiah
    Kolasinac
    Xhaka

    IN

    Bissouma
    Buendia
    Solomon
    Aaron’s
    Ryan
    Left-back

    1. I’m prepared to give up Reis Nelson, if you promise to deliver the above players SJ. Wholeheartedly agree with the remainder out your outs and would throw in Elneny as well. If you’re going to have a clearout why keep him? There is no sentimental value there.

  7. We need minimum 150 million pounds for transfers to lift us up the table.

    Sales should be able to give us 50 – 100 million pounds. Kroenke should then add 100 million pounds and we are good to go.

    1. You’re kinda right
      CM (Bissouma maybe) about 40 m
      CAM (whichever) 40-60m
      LB 15-20m
      attacker -40-50m

      That’s without replacements. Simply additions to the first team

      Out, I’d think

      Nketiah + Nelson 30-35M
      Guendouzi – 20-25M
      Elneny – 7-10M

      I personally think that is very reasonable and doable.

      1. More realistic numbers IMWO…

        Guendouzi—-£15M
        Nelson——£15M
        El Neny—-£10M

        Others who may leave

        Leno—-£25—30M
        Nkietah——£15M
        AMN——£15-20M
        Bellerin—-£15-20M
        Zhaka—-£20-25M
        Willian——£5-10M
        Willock——£30-35M
        Laca——£20M
        Cedric—-£5-10M

        Torreria and Mavro (unless £20M is offered) should both
        be sent back out on loan.

  8. I believe our senior strikers will come good next season. So they should not be sold.
    Arteta should promote Balogun and give him more game time in the Carling and FA Cup opening rounds.

    This first team will not be bad.

    Aubameyang.

    Solomon. Buendia. Saka.

    Bissouma. Partey.

    Tierney. Gabriel. Saliba. Aarons.

    Leno.

    2ND TEAM

    Lacazette.

    Martinelli. Smith-Rowe. Pepe.

    Willock. Elneny.

    Left-back. Mari. Holding. Cedric.

    Ryan.

    This will be a competitive squad and injuries should not affect this kind of squad too much, because of capable replacements.

    1. Hi SJ.. Saliba has made the shortlist for Ligue 1 CB of the season. Excellent news, considering he was only with Nice for 4 months!

    2. I would add P. Daka from RBS to add some depth and
      scoring punch up top. With him and the additions
      you’ve included in the first team Arsenal are looking
      at splashing around £150M.

      Selling the following players would recoup quite a bit
      of that staggering figure

      Nkietah~~~£15M (or used in Bissouma swap)
      Zhaka~~~£20-25M
      Bellerin~~~£15-20M
      Guendouzi~~~~£15M
      Chambers~~~~£15M
      Torreria~~~~£10-15M
      Nelson~~~£15M
      Wilian~~~£10M
      Kolasanic.~~~£5-10M

      Apprx £135M recouped

      Lots and lots of work to be done, and honestly that
      many players leaving in one window is probably
      unrealistic but from strictly a numbers perspective it
      is more than feasible for AFC.

      1. Keep Chambers, because where can you get a player, who is competent at RB, CB and DM. I would like to see Chambers given a run as DM alongside Partey in preseason.

  9. An Arsenal squad player with pace and a desire to move in a forward direction is worth a go. Arteta had many times to give Nelson a try when the likes of Auba,Pepe and particularly Willian were lamentable this season. Unless the guy is poor in training I think he deserves a go in his favoured position early next season.If he does well then we keep the boy or even sell him at a good price. Right now we don’t know what he is currently like but I have seen potential in the past that we should give an opportunity to so him and the management can make an informed decision about his career direction.

  10. Sell. Can’t see the point in keeping him when he isn’t getting a look-in..

    OT.. Who’ll replace Carlo at Everton?

  11. Arsenal need to face the reality that our young players are really not that good and that nas been the case for many years now even during Wenger’s tenure our players were very overestimated.

    Even guys like Saka have shown only glimpses but we’re so low nowadays that we call them super talented

    1. There chances have been limited; just compare Willock under Emery and Bruce, compared to Arteta.

  12. 21 feels awfully young to write off a player (Or maybe I’m just old). Particularly one with such promise who hasn’t been given a run of games to sink or swim. Nine games over the course of a season is not ample opportunity. Another casualty of signing Willian perhaps?

    Having said that, he should have been loaned out on January whether he wanted to or not. Very poor player development. Unless someone comes in with a silly offer, I’d like to see a year long loan to a PL club (Brentford anyone?)

    1. MA said that he wanted to send him out on loan but that the player wanted to stay at the club should it have been left up to a young player to make that decision I’m not so sure!

      1. What do we gain from once again loaning him out? ANSWER: Nothing at all IMO, as he simply becomes a year older and is not here to help us win, nor is he sold that we get money in for him!

        Loaning again and again and again is plain daft and simply harms the club. The club, to us, surely comes before the player!!
        (This of course excludes the bizarre and oddball “Ozil fan club” for his last five seasons when here, as they ALWAYS PUT THEIR “HERO” FIRST AND DID NOT CONSIDER THE HARM HE DID TO OUR CLUB)!

        1. How does it harm the club ?
          The club he goes to pays his wages and he gains experience and if he plays well his transfer value goes up (case in point willock )how the hell does that harm the club .
          Please think before you post ,and the Ozil bit was just plain weird which had nothing to offer to this article .
          SLOW THINKING FANS HEY ,SMH

      2. That’s what I heard as well and, if true, is worrisome on two levels. Either Arteta said stay and you’ll get game time (which turned out to be false) or else Arteta told him straight up he wouldn’t get game time and Nelson chose to stay anyway (which suggest complacency of the players part).

        Either way not a good look.

  13. I really have no way to assess Nelson with what I have seen. We (fans) tend to over-react on the positive and negative side. To hear some of us this guy is complete garbage and not an “Arsenal player” whereas others think he is really strong and should be on the team.

    I just don’t know as I haven’t seen enough of him in the squad.

  14. I agree with Trudeau’s first post, 21 is too young to say it’s over at Arsenal, I would like to think Nelson is very much part of our squad next season, as is Joe and Eddie

    Saka is exceptional, Emile took his opportunity really well but still isn’t the finishes article in my view so I hope that we keep all 5 and let them develop, loans could still be a part of that development for a couple of them

    Not so sure about Ainsley unfortunately, sell if the right club comes in with a good offer

  15. At least give him a fair chance he was suppose to get that in the season that just ended and we went and sign Willian who still hasn’t turn up for us and hinder the youth progression

  16. it is not hard to play him ,but the truth is that all the player that perform better at a younger age find it hart to get a chance in the first eleven if the manager does like the player

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