Owen Hargreaves has labelled Reiss Nelson as ‘super-talented’ after he netted a brace during Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved back to the top of the Premier League table with those emphatic three points, after it was briefly held by Manchester City when they beat Leicester City 24 hours earlier.
Both Arsenal and Manchester City have lost two games between them from their 24 matches – they sit in the top two with a game in hand on several teams below them.
Nonetheless, whilst many will be worried about Bukayo Saka’s injury yesterday, the headlines on the pitch were stolen by Nelson, the man who replaced him after 27 minutes.
The Hale-End academy product has had to do some serious grafting out on loan in recent years, but yesterday, he perhaps produced his best moment in an Arsenal shirt.
Not only did he net a five-minute brace after the restart, but he also added an assist to his name, as former England international Owen Hargreaves shares that when he first saw the 22-year-old in action, he was ‘blown away’, as he told Premier League Productions (30/10/22 at 4:05 pm).
“He’s only 22, a super-talented player,” said Hargreaves. “I remember seeing him with England U21s and being blown away with a 20-minute cameo, I thought ‘woah, that is really special’.
“He can play off the left and play off the right. But it doesn’t matter how talented you are, when you get an opportunity, then you need goals and goals keep you in a side like Arsenal.
“That’s huge for him, but you just hope Bukayo Saka is okay because he’s been fabulous for Arsenal and England.”
NEXT STOP CHELSEA
Arsenal’s next Premier League games is going to be another sign of just how much progress they are making because it’s the small matter of facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
In between that fixture, they do face FC Zurich in the Europa League, but their ticket for the knockout stages is already booked.
That probably won’t stop Arteta from fielding a few of his first-team stars because that’s what he has been doing during the group stages, including last week against PSV.
But perhaps Saka’s injury scare might force him to rest a few extra legs.
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