Time to go? Should Willock and Nelson be shown the door in January?

Time to go? Should Mikel Arteta allow Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson to leave Arsenal in January?

By Adam Le Roux

We’re only a week into the January transfer window but it already has the makings of a monumental month for Arsenal, with the exit door already in use, and left ajar for others to follow. 

Sead Kolasinac was the first to leave the Emirates earlier this month, as the Bosnian returned to former club Schalke on a six-month loan deal, while William Saliba followed him soon after, with the 19-year-old agreeing a temporary switch to Nice in Ligue 1. 

Mikel Arteta has already made it clear that there will be a number of comings and goings during January, and so far it looks like the Spaniard is keeping to his word, as he offloads the deadwood before the new arrivals sign their contracts. 

With that in mind, there will no doubt be more players that wave goodbye to the red and white shirt in the coming weeks and could Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson be among them? 

The young Gunners have impressed as bit-part players in Arteta’s squad so far this campaign, but they aren’t getting any younger, so would a loan deal to get regular game time benefit the two burgeoning talents? 

Would retaining Willock be a waste?

With rumours circulating of a creative midfielder being brought to the Emirates this month, it would leave Joe Willock even further down the pecking order for a place in Arteta’s plans, with first team chances becoming even more scarce. 

With just two Premier League starts this campaign, the 21-year-old has had to be content with a handful of Europa League and Carabao Cup appearances so far this campaign, as well as a number of fleeting league performances from the bench. 

The academy graduate will only have to take a look around the Arsenal dressing room to see the other talent on offer in his position, with Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka already proving their worth, despite being younger than the England Under-21 international. 

There comes a turning point in most players’ careers where they have to accept that a change of scenery can do them some good, and with Willock that time looks to be now. 

If he spends any more time lingering around the outskirts of the Gunners team, his development is going to be severely hindered in the long term, the simple fact of the matter is that he needs to be playing regular games at this point in his career. 

Saka and Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli are all proof that age is not a factor in Mikel Arteta’s thought process. If you are good enough you are old enough and the fact that Willock still isn’t making the cut despite the Gunners’ poor run of form proves that he quite simply isn’t making the grade. 

Having known nothing but the Emirates his whole life, you can understand a reluctance to move away from the club, but sometimes you have to be realistic and do the best for yourself, and in this case, that is to move on to pastures new.

With Norwich’s Emi Buendia rumoured to be a target for Arsenal this month, Willock and indeed Nelson have been hinted at being make-weights in the deal to lure the Argentinian away from Carrow Road. 

And if this is the case, there could be no better place for him to start life away from the Gunners, with the Canaries well-renowned for their impressive brand of football under boss Daniel Farke. 

The Norfolk-based side are on course for an immediate return to the Premier League as it stands, as they sit four points clear at the top of the Championship, and with Willock in their ranks it would be a mutually beneficial move for all involved. 

Nelson needs a nudge 

One of the only Arsenal players that we have seen less of than Willock this season is Reiss Nelson, with the versatile frontman barely getting a sniff of first team action and accumulating just two substitute appearances in the Premier League so far. 

Despite finding the net in a 3-0 victory over Molde in the Europa League back in November, the 21-year-old has regularly found himself warming the bench this year after making 22 appearances for the club in the last campaign. 

An impressive return of seven goals from 23 appearances for Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga two years ago looked to have paved the way for Nelson to make an impact on his return to the Arsenal setup, but he hasn’t managed to kick on after a promising spell in the Bundesliga. 

Like Willock, more game time will only improve the academy graduate’s all-round abilities and whether that be a temporary or permanent move away from the Emirates he will be all the better for it. 

There is often a belief among football fans that home-grown talent needs to be blooded and given time at a club, and the ones that come up through the ranks are often given more slack than the big-name signings, but sometimes you have to learn when to stop the sentimentality and cut them loose. 

Watching Nelson play, he can definitely do a job for a number of teams, whether that be in the lower reaches of the Premier League, in the Championship, or even abroad but the one thing that no one wants to see is that talent go to waste - does Jack Wilshere ring any bells? 

Leeds United are said to be interested in the tricky winger, while Norwich are once again rumoured to be a destination due to the Buendia saga, and both would suit Nelson perfectly. 

His willingness and endeavour is something that has never been questioned in his few appearances in a red and white shirt, which is something we all know Marcelo Bielsa demands from his team with their incessant pressing game. 

There is a reason why the Argentinian is revered as one of the best coaches in the world, and if you get the chance to work under him very few football players would turn it down, so it would be in Nelson’s best interests to jump ship and move to Elland Road. 

Verdict: Get them gone

If like Sead and Saliba, these are only six-month deals to give the club some wiggle room to bring in some talent to resurrect a dire start to the new campaign, the experience of getting regular football could really shape this pair for the future. 

At the age of 21 you need to be playing games wherever you can get them so leaving the Emirates should not be seen as a sign of weakness, but an opportunity that should be grasped with both hands and which could work in their favour on their return to the club. 

And even if it is a permanent move away from the Emirates, good luck to them. They may have come up through the Arsenal ranks but who are we to begrudge anyone of a move away to better their careers? 

From Arteta’s point of view, shifting these two could make all the difference in terms of who can be brought in to the club, not just in this month, but further down the line.

So, with that in mind, it seems to be the perfect resolution to mutually part ways.

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