Reiss Nelson joined the Arsenal Hale End Academy when he was just nine years old, and grew through the youth ranks before making his debut as an 18-year-old in the Community Shield win against Chelsea in 2017. His first major stint with competitive football came through when Arsenal sent him out on loan to Hoffenheim and he showed great potential, scoring seven goals in 29 appearances. Following the successful loan stint, Nelson got his breakthrough under Unai Emery and featured consistently for Arsenal, despite a lot of injury struggles.
However, minutes came hard to come by under Mikel Arteta, even though he was one of the gaffer’s favored attacking substitutes. Due to the paucity of game time, Nelson moved to Feyernoord and helped them to a UEFA Conference League finals against Roma as well as a third place finish in the EreDivisie. Since his full return to Arsenal at the start of the 2023/24 season, Nelson continued to struggle to get game time with his rare start against Luton Town last season being his first in four years.
He managed to sign a contract extension at the end of that campaign, and things didn’t improve last season, as Nelson had only five starts in the entire campaign. It was evident that he was further down the pecking order when Gabriel Jesus started coming on as a sub for the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, diminishing his chances. The contract extension enabled Arsenal with the chance to cash in on Nelson when the offer came, and that seems to be the case with West Ham currently interested in signing the English winger.
This is a good move for Nelson as it will offer him a chance to play consistently for the Hammers, which will allow him harness that talent that we know he always had. West Ham have their fair share of wingers, but Nelson will be able to contribute to their charge this season, and it will be interesting to see how things pan out. For Arsenal, it’s another sale from a largely underutilized player, adding some more greens to the coffers. It is believed that want around £20m for his services, which is decent.
These fringe players haven’t contributed to the cause consistently, so they are better off plying their trades elsewhere. Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Taveres have been shipped out on loan, Emile Smith Rowe is wanted by Fulham but they have not reached an agreement with Arsenal for a transfer fee.
We will monitor the situation with Nelson and hopefully, he leaves for this new adventure of his career with West Ham.
Sayonara.
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