Arsenal are a aspect who’ve reaped the advantages of possessing a powerful academy arrange in recent times, with the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka having all graduated from the Gunners’ youth ranks earlier than establishing themselves as regulars in Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad.
Nevertheless, arguably one of many membership’s most proficient academy prospects in latest reminiscence, Reiss Nelson, is but to fulfil his undoubted potential at The Emirates. And, with a matter of months remaining on his present contract in north London, time is operating out for the 22-year-old to show he has what it takes to make it on the membership.
Certainly, former Arsenal supervisor, Arsene Wenger, beforehand acknowledged his perception that Nelson “has proven that he can dribble, go previous folks and he isn’t fazed by the event,” whereas legendary Gunners centre-back Martin Keown claimed that the winger “confirmed the form of touches you typically see or affiliate with a Neymar or an actual high participant.”
There was proof of those claims on the pitch, with the £5.85m-rated expertise having impressed throughout a mortgage spell at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim again in 2018/19, scoring seven targets and registering one help over his 23 Bundesliga appearances, with Julian Nagelsmann going so far as to match the attacker to a different of Arsenal’s former academy graduates, Serge Gnabry.
Concerning Nelson, the previous Hoffenheim supervisor mentioned: “Reiss is a participant whose qualities might be in comparison with these of Serge Gnabry, however simply not so nicely developed.”
And, contemplating the truth that Gnabry now boasts a market valuation of £72m – having scored 67 targets and registered 43 assists over 182 appearances for Bayern Munich – simply eight years after he left Arsenal for a measly £4.5m, it might seem extraordinarily sensible for the Gunners to be taught their lesson from the 27-year-old’s rise and hand Nelson yet another likelihood to impress earlier than the top of his present deal.
Certainly, it’s simple that the academy prospect possesses the potential to be a large success within the skilled sport, even perhaps happening to match the extent of the Germany worldwide, however whether or not or not this growth happens at The Emirates appears to solely rely on whether or not or not Arteta affords the £15k-per-week starlet a last alternative in an Arsenal shirt.