Arsenal: Reiss Nelson debacle must be heeded

Reiss Nelson is set to leave Arsenal, joining Hoffenheim per Chris Wheatley of Goal.com. The debacle is a warning for future youngsters leaving the club. It must be heeded.

Reiss Nelson is set to leave Arsenal football club. According to Chris Wheatley of Goal.com, Nelson has agreed to a contract with Hoffenheim and will leave for the German club in the near future, seeing his development progressing more successfully away from the Emirates. It is a sad day for a club that prides itself on the chances that it affords its young talent.

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At 18 years of age, Nelson feels that his career is better served by moving away. That is a very concerning development indeed, especially considering the recent trend of talented prospects moving away to find regular football.

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In January, for instance, Marcus McGuane felt that he would progress further by joining Barcelona. Chris Willock made the same decision two years prior, joining Benfica, as did Serge Gnabry in the summer of 2016. He has just been unveiled as Bayern Munich’s latest signing coming off a ten-goal season for Hoffenheim on loan, the very club that Nelson is now joining — I am sure that Nelson has had conversations with Gnabry.

And beyond Arsenal, Jadon Sancho, a good friend of Nelson from the junior national team set-ups, chose to leave Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund last summer. At the weekend, Sancho came off the bench for Dortmund to assist Marco Reus for the fourth goal in a 4-1 win. Nelson, there is no doubt, is watching the first-team success that these players are enjoying and is jealous as he, in his opinion, stagnates in the under 23s.

Whether Nelson does deserve more first-team opportunities or not is a difficult question to answer. But that has no bearing on his decision to depart. Nelson doesn’t care whether he does actually deserve them or not. He believes that he does. Therefore, when he isn’t getting them, — he’s yet to be named in a matchday squad this season — he grows frustrated and contemplates moving elsewhere to find them. That is precisely what has happened here.

This, like Gnabry, Willock and McGuane is a warning that Arsenal must heed. If they do not give these players chances to prove themselves at the senior level, then they will now actively choose to leave. Even five years ago, British players especially, there was a fear to move to a supposed lesser club to seek out playing time, particularly overseas. That stigma is lessening.

Players like Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock, Chris’ younger brother, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles may begin to make the same decision that Nelson has. Giving them the opportunities to thrive and locking them down to long-term contracts is now even more important than ever.

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Arsenal must heed this warning. If they do not, they will lose more players like Nelson, and there will be many more sad days to come.

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