Would Arsenal selling Reiss Nelson be a mistake?
Would Arsenal selling Reiss Nelson be a mistake?
By Jack Lacey-Hatton
A talented,
if somewhat mercurial winger, Reiss Nelson has dazzled in an Arsenal shirt at
times in the last four years since making his first team debut.
Yet last
season proved a stumbling block. Nelson didn’t feature anywhere near as much as
he would have hoped, making nine appearances for the first team.
For a
player who has already shown he can play in Europe’s top leagues, thanks to a
successful loan spell at 1889 Hoffenheim,
this cannot be allowed to happen again.
Consequently, speculation is now growing that Nelson could leave the
Emirates this summer, with a host of clubs queuing up to make him an offer.
So would selling the 21-year old be a mistake for the club?
Yes
He may not
have featured much in the first team last season but Nelson is still one of the
most creative forces on the Arsenal books.
When he has
been in team first team at various points over the last few seasons, he has
shown what he can bring.
Back in
2019, Mikel Arteta first was appointed manager, the young Englishman started
four games out of his first five, including a man-of-the-match display against
Leeds United when he also grabbed the winner.
The
similarities in his style of play with his best friend, England star Jadon Sancho
are easy to spot every time he plays. He has trickery, pace and exquisite ball
control.
When at
Hoffenheim, highly-rated manager Julian Nagelsmann described Nelson as an
incredible player in one-to-one situations.
This also
gives him different attributes to Arsenal’s other talented young attacking
midfielder, Emile Smith Rowe.
In
addition, although Nelson has been around the first team picture for a few
years, and had a season in the Bundesliga, he is still only 21 years old.
He still
has to develop into a more complete player, is it worth the risk seeing him
develop somewhere else?
Considering
Arsenal’s other options in wide attacking areas, can they afford to let Nelson
go?
No
It may not
be a mistake for Arsenal to sell Nelson, much depends on what they get in
return.Speculation
is increasing that Nelson could be used as leverage in deal to sign James
Maddison from Leicester City.
If this
does become a reality, it would be hard to argue against letting Nelson go.Maddison
has proven himself on a consistent basis in the Premier League over
back-to-back seasons, something Nelson has yet to truly achieve.
Too often
in the last five to six years, the club have been waiting too long for certain
individuals to realise their potential.
If Arteta
wants to urgently get the club back to challenging for a Champions League place
or better, signing proven Premier League quality is a must.
Bringing in
Maddison would give him the opportunity to do that, it may mean a promising
young player has to leave, but that could be a price worth playing.
Nelson has
played nearly 50 first team senior games for the club now. Whilst he has made
an impact at times, he certainly can’t say he wasn’t given a chance by Arsenal
to progress into the first team.
His best
friend Sancho had to make a bold transfer to aid his development, when he left
Man City to move to Borussia Dortmund, maybe it is time Nelson does the same.
If nothing else, in this
scenario his departure would at least make sense.
Photo credit: Getty Images
A talented,
if somewhat mercurial winger, Reiss Nelson has dazzled in an Arsenal shirt at
times in the last four years since making his first team debut.
Yet last
season proved a stumbling block. Nelson didn’t feature anywhere near as much as
he would have hoped, making nine appearances for the first team.
For a
player who has already shown he can play in Europe’s top leagues, thanks to a
successful loan spell at 1889 Hoffenheim,
this cannot be allowed to happen again.
Consequently, speculation is now growing that Nelson could leave the
Emirates this summer, with a host of clubs queuing up to make him an offer.
So would selling the 21-year old be a mistake for the club?
Yes
He may not
have featured much in the first team last season but Nelson is still one of the
most creative forces on the Arsenal books.
When he has
been in team first team at various points over the last few seasons, he has
shown what he can bring.
Back in
2019, Mikel Arteta first was appointed manager, the young Englishman started
four games out of his first five, including a man-of-the-match display against
Leeds United when he also grabbed the winner.
The
similarities in his style of play with his best friend, England star Jadon Sancho
are easy to spot every time he plays. He has trickery, pace and exquisite ball
control.
When at
Hoffenheim, highly-rated manager Julian Nagelsmann described Nelson as an
incredible player in one-to-one situations.
This also
gives him different attributes to Arsenal’s other talented young attacking
midfielder, Emile Smith Rowe.
In
addition, although Nelson has been around the first team picture for a few
years, and had a season in the Bundesliga, he is still only 21 years old.
He still
has to develop into a more complete player, is it worth the risk seeing him
develop somewhere else?
Considering
Arsenal’s other options in wide attacking areas, can they afford to let Nelson
go?
No
It may not
be a mistake for Arsenal to sell Nelson, much depends on what they get in
return.
Speculation
is increasing that Nelson could be used as leverage in deal to sign James
Maddison from Leicester City.
If this
does become a reality, it would be hard to argue against letting Nelson go.
Maddison
has proven himself on a consistent basis in the Premier League over
back-to-back seasons, something Nelson has yet to truly achieve.
Too often
in the last five to six years, the club have been waiting too long for certain
individuals to realise their potential.
If Arteta
wants to urgently get the club back to challenging for a Champions League place
or better, signing proven Premier League quality is a must.
Bringing in
Maddison would give him the opportunity to do that, it may mean a promising
young player has to leave, but that could be a price worth playing.
Nelson has
played nearly 50 first team senior games for the club now. Whilst he has made
an impact at times, he certainly can’t say he wasn’t given a chance by Arsenal
to progress into the first team.
His best
friend Sancho had to make a bold transfer to aid his development, when he left
Man City to move to Borussia Dortmund, maybe it is time Nelson does the same.
If nothing else, in this
scenario his departure would at least make sense.
Photo credit: Getty Images
