Arsenal have sent Reiss Nelson to Feyenoord in order to give him first-team football… and they have received some criticism in the process.
The Gunners had high hopes for Nelson once upon a time. Having excelled on loan at Hoffenheim in Germany, Nelson looked set for stardom.
That just hasn’t happened, especially under Mikel Arteta.
Nelson played in just two Premier League games last season. This term, he featured as a substitute against Brentford, played 19 minutes and was then farmed out.
Feyenoord swooped to sign Nelson having seen a deal for Manchester United’s Amad Diallo fall through due to injury.
Nelson hasn’t played for Feyenoord yet, and isn’t fit enough to face Maccabi Haifa today.
Now, Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has explained Nelson’s situation in Rotterdam – and taken a small dig at Mikel Arteta in the process.
Slot has told RTV Rijnmond that Nelson isn’t used to training at the intensity Feyenoord do, seemingly suggesting that Arsenal’s training under Arteta is somewhat… easier.
“Nelson had participated in almost all training sessions at Arsenal, but he experiences the training here as a bit more intense,” said Slot. “He suffered an overuse injury and so he is not there. Whether he will make it to PSV remains to be seen,” he added.
Slot’s style of play at AZ Alkmaar was high-pressing and all-action, so his players at Feyenoord need to be fit enough to handle that intensity.
Mikel Arteta’s style isn’t quite so high-energy, so that could explain the big difference Nelson is feeling away from Arsenal.
Arteta may not like the implication that his training methods are considered weaker than others, but maybe Nelson will come back to Arsenal fitter than ever.
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