‘Oh wow’: Reiss Nelson shares reaction after Mikel Arteta kept him guessing on Arsenal bench

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Reiss Nelson came on for Arsenal on Sunday and he admitted being ‘like a yo-yo’ before Mikel Arteta finally decided to bring him on.

Arsenal took on Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon as they looked to bounce back from a draw at Southampton and defeat at PSV Eindhoven.

The Gunners went ahead through Gabriel Martinelli but then suffered an enormous blow.

Bukayo Saka went off injured for Arsenal in a worrying sight for the Gunners but also for England just weeks out from the World Cup.

Reiss Nelson came on for Arsenal

That meant a rare Premier League chance for Reiss Nelson.

The 22-year-old was once backed for big things at Arsenal but for many reasons it just hasn’t happened.

After spending last season on loan at Feyenoord, this now feels like Nelson’s last chance to really stake a claim at Arsenal.

Nelson is out of contract at the end of the season and could simply walk away from the Gunners.

Nelson took his chance against Forest though as he scored twice in the second half to help Arsenal claim a 5-0 win.

It’s unclear just how long Saka will be out for but Nelson could now have a very real chance to play regular first-team football for Arsenal.

Arsenal fans are of course delighted with the win itself but seeing Nelson take centre stage for once was a great sight for all.

Nelson has now commented on his introduction, admitting that he was kept guessing by boss Mikel Arteta.

Saka kept trying to play on despite his injury and Arteta was trying to give him every chance to continue.

That meant Nelson kept warming up and then sitting down, warming up for long and sitting down again.

Nelson admitted to Arsenal’s official website that he was up and down like a yo-yo before Arteta finally told him to come on.

Nelson was blown away by that introduction and really wanted to size his moment in the Arsenal team.

“When I went to warm-up I was thinking ‘I’m just going to warm-up and then maybe come back down again’, but he said ‘OK maybe warm-up for a bit longer’, and I kept warming up and I came back down, warmed-up again,” said Nelson. “So I kept going up like a yo-yo, and then he said ‘Reiss you’re coming on’. I was just like ‘oh wow’. But I knew it was one of those – it was my moment, so I had to seize it you know. So I’m just happy and delighted that I could get on and just help the team,” he added.