Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he wanted Reiss Nelson to leave Arsenal on loan during the summer transfer window, but now claims that his training-ground form will be rewarded with chances in the first team.
Nelson hasn’t kicked a ball for the Gunners since the Community Shield win over Liverpool back in August.
Injury has played a part in the 20-year-old’s anonymous season so far but for the most part Arteta has struggled to find a place for him in the squad.
Arsenal’s addition of Willian during the summer did Nelson no favours at all.
But the Spaniard, whose side host Dundalk in the Europa League tomorrow night, has revealed that he has been very impressed with the player at London Colney as of late and insisted that he would get opportunities to prove himself.
He told Football London: “We had a few plans in mind with Reiss, one of them was to send him out on loan to get more minutes because of the competition we have upfront.
“The reality is that he’s been really good in training, he wants to stay here and fight for his place. He’s going to get chances in the right moment.”
Well, there you have it.
Nelson, like every Arsenal player, will be given a fair crack at the whip, which is all they can ask.
Some Gunners fans might argue that Mesut Ozil – left out of the Premier League and Europa League squad – hasn’t been given enough chances to impress.
Then again, Arteta picks his team based on how they train during the week and it must be assumed that Nelson has shown more hunger than the enigmatic former Germany international.
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