Back in August, Feyenoord completed the signing of Reiss Nelson on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal.
In moving to the Netherlands, the 22-year-old had a great chance to show Mikel Arteta why he should be playing for the Gunners on a regular basis, after he made just one Premier League appearance last season.
Unfortunately, it has been a difficult campaign for Nelson, although he’s now starting to show why Arteta thinks he’s a huge talent.
What’s the story?
Well, in his first 17 Eredivisie appearances this season, Nelson failed to score a single goal, and only had an assist to show for his efforts.
His lack of form was especially worrying, as the Dutch top-flight has been described as a significantly easier division than the Premier League, with all due respect.
For example, Vincent Janssen scored 27 goals in 34 Eredivisie appearances in the 2015/16 season, which earned him a £17m move to Tottenham.
He then went on to score just six goals in 42 games for Spurs.
However, Nelson has been much better in recent weeks.
In his last six appearances across all competitions, the Hale End Academy graduate has been involved in seven goals.
Nelson provided an assist in the UEFA Conference League semi-final win over Marseille, before going on to score two goals and provide four assists in his last three league appearances.
Reiss Nelson has a future at Arsenal
In our view, Nelson does have a future at Arsenal, despite his struggles in the Netherlands this season.
Arteta will be encouraged by the youngster’s strong finish to the campaign, especially during the business end to the season where Feyenoord are involved in European semi-final clashes.
At the age of just 22, the England Under-21 international is still far from the finished product, and his experiences on loan in Germany, and also in the Netherlands, should help him significantly.
If the Spaniard feels Nelson needs another season out on loan, then a move to Crystal Palace might do wonders for his development.
In 2021, Patrick Vieira tried to bring the winger to Selhurst Park, a place where the likes of Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have noticeably improved.
Whatever happens, it’s good to see Nelson finding a bit of rhythm.
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