AFTV News

What does the future hold for Reiss Nelson? By Jonny Bray After a successful loan spell to German side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, many Arsenal fans felt Reiss Nelson was ready to make an impact on the first team. The winger scored seven goals and recorded one assist in 23 appearances while playing in the Bundesliga. He looked set to nail down a starting place at Arsenal upon returning to North London ahead of the 2019/20 season but scored just one goal in 17 Premier League appearances. And he compounded that disappointing campaign with a poor 2020/21 season that saw him make just nine appearances in all competitions. He scored one goal and started three times, though he did miss 12 games due to injury. Fans hoped consistent first-team football might help Nelson realise his full potential, but it has been quite the opposite, as the English winger has failed to make a meaningful impact on Dutch side Feyenoord. What has gone wrong at Feyenoord? It is not that Reiss Nelson has played poorly at F...

Transfer deadline day: The ins and outs By Oscar Maung-Haley Another summer transfer window is in the books and while Arsenal didn’t quite go for the full 2011 experience (we’re still shuddering at the signing of Andre Santos…) it was quite a busy day at the Emirates. Here’s a recap of all the ins and outs. The Ins Arsenal made just one signing on deadline day. Takehiro Tomiyasu – signed from Bologna Centre-back Takehiro Tomiyasu joined the Gunners from Bologna on deadline day for a fee thought to be in the region of £16m. A Japanese international, Tomiyasu is a versatile player, capable of operating at both the heart of defence and at right-back. Given Hector Bellerin’s deadline day departure, it made sense to add someone who could cover right-back. Additionally, Tomiyasu’s arrival would allow Arsenal to be more flexible in their attacking approach, with the 22-year-old being able to come inside to form a back three, freeing up Kieran Tierney to roam forward. His signing could turn ou...

Gabriel Martinelli playing in Arsenal's 2-0 loss against Brentford last Friday Which youngsters deserve a shot against West Brom in the Carabao Cup?  Arsenal’s 2021-22 Premier League campaign began poorly last Friday, with a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Brentford providing a far from the ideal start.  And things don’t get any easier for the Gunners, with a match next Sunday against Chelsea and then a clash against reigning league champions Manchester City the following weekend. However, there is also the matter of next Wednesday’s EFL Cup second round fixture against West Brom to contend with. With less than 72 hours in between that match at The Hawthorns and a 12:30 kickoff at The Etihad the following Saturday, Mikel Arteta will likely rest several key players with a strong league campaign desired by fans and the club.  Most top-flight clubs targeting European places generally use the EFL Cup as a chance to give younger players experience, and Arteta is unlikely to t...

  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 c ould 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...

Five Arsenal stars who could benefit from a loan move this summer By Oscar Maung-Haley With the transfer window merry-go-round in full swing, we look at the Arsenal players who could benefit from a temporary move away from the Emirates ahead of the new season. Eddie Nketiah At 22 years old, Eddie Nketiah is somehow at risk of becoming yesterday’s man. While 13 goals in 65 appearances for the Gunners is by no means disastrous, Nketiah has hardly hit the ground running since making his debut four years ago. After featuring in all but two of Arsenal’s opening 14 Premier League games last season, he only appeared five times in their remaining league fixtures. There can be no doubt that Nketiah still has potential – he did break Alan Shearer’s England U21s record with 16 goals in 17 appearances. Recently, the Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that Arsenal had offered Nketiah a new contract that would protect his value, which has not been accepted. With his contract set to expire next summe...

Five players that could feature more for Arsenal next season By Oscar Maung-Haley With transfer funds potentially scarce this summer, here are five current players that could help Arsenal improve upon their woeful 2020-21 campaign. Joe Willock With a Premier League Player of the Month award on his mantlepiece, Joe Willock is one name who achieve big things in an Arsenal shirt for the upcoming season. Willock was instrumental in helping Newcastle United to safety last season, scoring eight goals in just 14 appearances. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette were the only Gunners to score more Premier League goals than the 21-year-old this season. Offering a level of dynamism in the centre of the park, Willock would add a goalscoring threat to Arsenal’s midfield. But if he is to progress further, he must be afforded a consistent amount of game-time. Additionally, given that Willock played primarily in a three-man midfield, and Arsenal have tended to stick with a ...

Forget Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah - is Miguel Azeez the next young cab off the Arsenal rank? By Will Jennings Whisper it quietly – but the next big thing off the booming Emirates production line may be just around the corner. Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah and among the latest academy graduates to storm onto the first-team scene in North London. And Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are the other recent cabs off the rank as Arsenal’s youngsters continue to make a splash. Mikel Arteta’s laudable promotion of youth has been an unequivocal hallmark of his tenure and now, after one Saturday afternoon at Ewood Park, there’s another Arsenal starlet who’s got Gunners fans talking. Step forward Miguel Azeez. Azeez, 18, sparkled in Lancashire as he powered Arsenal’s Under-18s to an emphatic 4-1 victory against Blackburn and into the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup. Khayon Edwards, Kido Taylor-Hart, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Azeez all scored...

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?  Th...

Nicolas Pepe's misery, power of youth and Mo's time to crash the Partey - three things we learned from Arsenal's 4-2 win over Dundalk By Will Jennings Mikel Arteta and his team put their Premier League woes behind them as a youth-inspired victory in Dundalk secured them top spot in their Europa League group.  Eddie Nketiah, Mohamed Elneny, Joe Willock and Folarin Balogun were the names on the scoresheet as the Gunners confirmed their place at the summit and – theoretically – booked themselves a more favourable draw in the knockout stages.  Arsenal lie a lowly 15th in the top-flight table and just seven points above the drop after a dismal start to the season under Arteta.  But, once again, their performances in cup competitions appear to be keeping their campaign afloat, with a third round FA Cup clash against Newcastle also lined up in the new year.  The Gunners host Sean Dyche’s struggling Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday – and here are three things we learn...