After initially making his breakthrough back when Arsene Wenger was in charge, things haven’t quite progressed as fast as Reiss Nelson may have hoped.
The 20-year-old has played just 42 times for the first-team at the Emirates, with most of them (17) coming under Mikel Arteta’s guidance. The England U21 international has featured predominantly in the cup competitions this season, and has yet to play a single minute of Premier League football.
And speaking before watching him deliver a sparkling Europa League performance against Dundalk, Arteta made it clear that Nelson had shown him a desire to really fight for his place this season.
He said: “Reiss was really convinced that he wanted to fight to stay here. And when you see that willingness and that passion and that security in a player, you feel tempted to keep him even though you know that opportunities are going to be restricted and he is not going to have a lot of continuity in his play.”
With Nicolas Pepe and Willian still struggling to find consistency in their game – they have scored just two goals in 18 games between them – surely Nelson can be afforded more regular opportunities to impress.
Speaking earlier in the year after the Gunners had triumphed over Portsmouth in the FA Cup, Arteta said: “We have pace in a few players up front. Reiss (Nelson) is a special player and can eliminate players one on one. He’s been out for a while but he’s back now and he showed what he’s capable of doing.”
That pace and directness could be a game-changer for Arteta, and really disrupt opposition teams as they look to stifle other attacking players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Nelson could open the game up with his speed and penetration and would be a very forward-thinking move to play him.
With the games coming thick and fast both in the Premier League and Europa League, now is the best time for Arteta to unleash one of the Gunners’ brightest young talents.