Reiss Nelson says that his loan spell at Hoffenheim has taught him a lot, and that he’s now ready to go back and play for his club, the Arsenal.
The 19 year old spent last season at the Bundesliga outfit, catching the eye early on with six goals in his first seven appearances. It wasn’t all plain sailing though, as he failed to nail down a regular starting place and was left out of the squad at times – boss Julian Nagelsmann revealing he had done so as an ‘educational measure’.
However, he ended the campaign with seven goals and an assist, and he feels like it’s been good preparation for next season with the Gunners.
“I learned a lot of stuff,” he told the Telegraph. “I made a lot of friends, and also I made a good connection with the managers.
“They taught me a lot of stuff that I can take on in my career. It was difficult, leaving, but Arsenal are my team and I want to go back to Arsenal and play.
“I am Arsenal through and through. I support Arsenal. All my family support Arsenal. That’s an interaction I have with the fans. It’s a good thing.
“They support a lot of the young talent coming up through Arsenal. It’s good.”
The development has been physical too. He continued, “I have got a bit bigger. I was playing at Arsenal when I was 17, when Wenger gave me my Premier League debut against Southampton, so I was very immature when I was playing.
“Now I have a more mature role about me. I look to play link-up play, one v ones, and I think I am more mature.”
With the club publicly on the record about the need to integrate young talent from the Academy, it could be a breakthrough season for the exciting wide forward, and hopefully he can make another step forward with us.
So long as they are managed correctly, and not just thrown on to save dying games that the more senior players have already fucked beyond all recognition, this could be a very exciting season for some of our academy lads
Agreed. After January, Arsenal were more or less crap quite a bit of the time. New faces and new approaches are needed — no more of this wilting in away games please
Come home Reiss..
*cue Lion King music from the scene where Simba is held aloft on Pride Rock by Rafiki
I think you’re more thinking the scene towards the end where an adolescent Simba is racing back to Pride Rock with Pumba, Timon and Nala to face Scar and take his rightful place…
…on the wing!
@Maul Person
.. Of course, or course..
I don’t know why we have become so adverse to playing academy players in the premier league. Isn’t that why you have a reserve system? So when “1st team” players get injured (Bellerin, Holding etc) or lose form (everyone apart from Laca and Auba), you play a reserve player?
The thing is not to play them only when a 1st teamer gets injured (which was not in Emery’s thinking else Willock would have played more) but to actively seek opportunities to play them. That requires a major shift in thinking so I hope that the expressed intention and the appointment of Freddie as Assistant Manager means we will see these young players come on more than we previously have.
Personally I’m willing to sacrifice the UCL and cash that comes with it if it means we can give our youth more quality minutes to find their feet in the league. With Everton and other teams below us spending more than us and Stanny boy keeping his hands out of his pockets it’s looking like top 4 will be a struggle as it stands anyway, so let’s make the most of it
Sounds ideal, until the top sides start knicking our best players!
I agree, it’s worth another year of EL, if the young guys are good enough. It is a risky gamble, but preferred anyways if alternative is to spend on someone that is not a guaranteed improvement
Hope the academy gets more chances than the fuck all Europa league group stages where the opposition is just slightly better than McDonald’s XI.
Is he really ready?????……
Yes.
How will we ever know if you don’t let the lad play?
Definitely think Nelson and ESR should be in the first team squad this season, still think the lack of signings in defence are becoming an increasing worry!!!
I think this Tierney deal might happen, but I’d be surprised if we bring in anyone else. Defenders are the hot commodity right now, and they cost a lot. We have quite a few centrebacks at present, but we just need them to be coached properly and we need a system/style of play that puts us on the front foot and in control of matches (such that mistakes don’t have catastrophic results) rather than struggling to keep up with a mid-table team.
Part of our problem is our style of play and mentality. We lack the calming influence at the back (Holding is developing this way), have a midfielder who is prone to giving away free kicks in the middle of the final third, and have forward players who do not cover our wingbacks when they caught 2 on 1 or out of position. Essentially our team hasn’t been tactically smart enough not driven enough
A bit mad that we’re relying on him to save our season already but fingers crossed all the same!
He won’t save the season, but he could be a bright spot and giver of a delightful goal here and there — that would be very welcome.
Best of luck to the lad. At a time when money and lack of enticing top positions and competitions are to play for, we need to see if our young Guns can take us back to where we belong.
People think that youth team players can magically make an impact- they need the right manager for that. Emery certainly hasn’t shown anything in his career that says he likes youth. He has one year left on his contract too- is he going to bother with youth? Doubt it. If we had a convincing manager on a long-term contract who we know has a good track record with youth it’s a different ball game
What does length of contract have to do with anything?
Because he may think that he can’t experiment with youth when he’s not got long left to perform? Does any manager under pressure play young players, or does he play players he “trusts” like clowns like Xhaka and Iwobi?
Yeah I don’t get iwobi, I don’t think he has anything special about him, he’s not that fast, he shits the bed in final third wether it’s a shot or a pass and he’s not a bad dribbler but seems to end up dribbling into corners. I think that’s what happened us in the last quarter of season haven no decent wingers. Reiss is defo worth a look at next season.
Certainly isn’t a strange opinion that Emery is not a manager for young players. Also shared by people on Arseblog
My question had nothing to do with his management or use of young players. You made length of contract part of your view about a new manager. What has that (a long term contract) got to do with having someone come in and integrate young players from the academy as part of their management strategy?
I mean, it DOES play a role.
If you have a year left and fighting for a new one, you’re all about short term. Playing youth, which requires long-term thinking because they are often inconsistent, potentially damages that.
This is commonly known as The Mourinho Principle.
The fact that, as it stands, Emery has one year left and the plan is to integrate youth would say otherwise.
My view is you do it or you don’t. That’s not a measure of the length of your contract but more a measure of the manager and his trust in youth.
Love to see this fella next season on the first team squad..
I haven’t seen him a lot but he doesn’t impress so much. Hopefully I am awfully wrong.
Let the other teams spend. Meanwhile, we’ll steal their talents, because we give youth a chance. I’d rather watch a team full of exciting talented wonderkids than overpaid primadonnas.