Arsenal: Steadiness key in Reiss Nelson’s underwhelming debut

Arsenal finally found the occasion to give Reiss Nelson his first ever Premier League start and while it was underwhelming, it was steady. Which is more important.

Naturally, there was a ton of buzz surrounding the first Premier League start of young Arsenal prospect Reiss Nelson, who has been aching for some first-team action all season thanks to a fantastic preseason.

Nelson was given the start against relegation-contenders Southampton and he was on the pitch with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (and not many others, honestly). Still, he had the weapons there to make an impact, if it was there to make.

He really didn’t, though. Nelson was underwhelming in the hour that he played, not finding his rhythm and not making much of a dent on proceedings. He touched the ball plenty, but he seemed a bit perplexed when it came to doing something with it.

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Statistically, Nelson managed no shots or chances created. He completed just one dribble, which is undoubtedly his strong-suit. He did add a tackle and an interception to pad the stats a bit, but overall, the dynamism wasn’t there.

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What was there, however, was a certain steadiness that I think we needed to see out of Nelson more than dynamism. We have seen what Nelson can do. He is a mover and a shaker and as he grows in confidence, he will do plenty of moving and shaking at the Premier League level. We know that already.

What we don’t know as much about is his ability to be responsible with the ball. He does so much moving and shaking that he often times gets a bit loose with possession and gets caught up trying to do far too much with the ball.

Against Southampton, he completed 92% of his passes. He did not forfeit possession a single time. Those are the stats that I think speak volumes about his performance. No, he was not able to do much in the attacking theater of the game, but he did not put his team in any awkward positions, he didn’t leave anyone exposed and he wasn’t reckless.

Given the way this game turned out, care in possession was a huge deal, and Nelson adhered to that principle.

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Consistency is something we preach about all the time with Arsenal players, and Nelson’s ability to lay down a foundation for how responsible he can be just sets the table for combining that responsibility with his dynamism to come.