Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson has revealed his desire to extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium beyond the end of his current contract – which expires in the summer of 2023.
The Englishman has hardly seen consistent minutes on the pitch, since making his debut against London rivals Chelsea in the Community Shield in 2017.
It has been more than five years since the 23-year-old made his bow, but he’s struggled to establish himself as a regular. The Gunners academy graduate has just made 55 appearances in the iconic red and white.
With minutes still hard to come by for Nelson this season, a move away from North London looked very much on the cards. However, in a recent interview with Football.London, the winger suggested his longing to extend the current contract and remain with his boyhood club, Arsenal.
“Of course,” he said when asked if he’d like to stay. “I’ve been here since I was eight and Arsenal is all I know. I’m only a couple of minutes from the stadium, all my family is there. So of course I’d love to stay.”
Nelson didn’t have the best of starts in the current campaign, as he was ruled out for two months in August due to a thigh injury. But recently he has seen a lot of action and sounds pleased by it. He continued:
“Yeah it’s amazing,” he said of his recent increased minutes. “I’ve said a few times, I’ve been here since I was eight and I’m 23 now so I’ve been here a long time and I’m Arsenal through and through. So to be playing, even in games just like this I’m delighted. Of course, injuries are just a minor setback, but of course I just look towards the future and hopefully I can play many more years at the club.”
The youngster is one of the few Arsenal players who are not featuring regularly for the current team but is still adored by the club’s faithful.
Even manager Mikel Arteta hinted at the admiration he has for Nelson.
“Yeah, 100%,” said Arteta when asked by football.london if Nelson still has a chance of signing a new deal back in October.
“That is why he is here because we want to have that opportunity with him. He was willing to take that opportunity and again it’s down to him to show it now on the pitch.
“Out there [in training], he is showing it every day, how he is working, a lot of things that he has changed and improved in many things that in our opinion could have been better. Now he is on the right track, now he needs to perform.”
If Nelson performs on the pitch, nobody will know for certain where his future will lie. The pessimistic Arsenal fans have already made their mind up on Nelson.
While the optimistic ones have the perfect example in Eddie Nketiah on how fast things can change in football. Like Nketiah last season, Nelson looks more out of the club than in.
But if he has faith in himself and that faith turns into great performances on the pitch, Nelson will have a good chance of persuading the club’s hierarchy to hand him a new contract.
