Arsenal Vs Ostersunds: Reiss Nelson’s last chance

Arsenal host FK Ostersunds in the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie. Given their exit from the FA Cup and the end of the Carabao Cup campaign on Sunday, it will be Reiss Nelson’s last chance to dazzle.

The blooding of youngsters is something that Arsene Wenger has always been keen to do. While he is a competitive, win-first manager, he also recognises that there is more to running a football club than simply winning games. He is a people-leader, a player-developer, very much a father-figure to many of the young lads that he has regular contact with.

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As a result, Arsenal, as an organisation that is very much shaped in the mould of the man that has implemented his designs and principles for over two decades, also value the progression of youth. It is a key part of their DNA.

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And the club perhaps has one of the most exciting young crops for many years. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock, Jeff Reine-Adelaide. These are all individuals who have performed well for the under 23s and are now beginning to peek into the first team, attempting to impress themselves on Wenger’s thinking. Of all the young players that are currently worming their way into the senior squad, perhaps none are as talented as Reiss Nelson.

Having only just turned 18 this season, he is the youngest of the group, but for the under 23s, he has perhaps had the greatest impact. Only Nketiah has been directly involved in more goals that Nelson, with nine goals and two assists in comparison to Nelson’s seven goals and two assists, but the Norwich City saviour has played 180 more minutes and is often station as the lone centre-forward, spearheading the attack, with Nelson positioned a little deeper. It is Nelson, not Nketiah, that is often the creative fulcrum and midfield driving force at the heart of the team.

It is also Nelson that has received a greater share of senior minutes this season. Although he has only made one substitute appearance last just 18 minutes in the Premier League, he has made six starts across the domestic cups and Europa League. But those opportunities will soon dry up.

Arsenal host FK Ostersunds in the second leg of their already-determined last-32 Europa League tie on Thursday night. After that fixture, assuming that they hold onto the three-goal advantage they currently boast, which is widely expected, they will reach the business end of the competition. With a Champions League qualification spot on the line, it would be surprising to see Wenger risk the kids. The FA Cup, unfortunately, is already finished after the third-round loss to Nottingham Forest, while the Carabao Cup will end on Sunday.

Put simply, there aren’t that many games left in which Wenger can unleash Nelson. As such, Thursday night’s game is perhaps his final opportunity of the year in which he can showcase his dazzling attacking skills: his blistering pace, his acute, sharp balance, his direct, intentional dribbling, his precise, dangerous delivery.

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Nelson is yet to truly show what he is capable of on the senior stage. For all of his promise and youth-level production, he has not replicated the same form for the first team. Perhaps on Thursday, all that changes.