Arsenal: Reiss Nelson not better than Henrikh Mkhitaryan, is he?

Reiss Nelson scored twice for Hoffenheim on Saturday. The young Arsenal prospect cannot be better than Henrikh Mkhitaryan already, can he?

I am not for reactionary takes. Or for hot-headed, recency-biased opinions. Unfortunately, football writing, reporting and blogging is full of it. It is the nature, I guess, of sport. People have opinions. Not all of them are going to be informed ones. That said, I feel myself asking a question that could very well be considered a hot take.

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Henrikh Mkhitaryan has had a poor season thus far. In fact, since his arrival at Arsenal, other than a few bright performances here and there, the former Manchester United winger has largely been disappointing. And it has led me to question whether he is someone worth not only starting on a regular basis but also investing time and money in at 29 years of age.

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Conversely, over in Germany, on loan at Hoffenheim, young Reiss Nelson in well and truly and ripping it up. The right winger was insistent that he went out on loan in the summer if he was not to be given any more playing opportunities at the Emirates. Unai Emery was honest about his playing prospects if he stayed and duly obliged.

Since the move to continental Europe, Nelson has proceeded to score six Bundesliga goals in just seven games. Even more impressively, he has averaged just 51 minutes per goal, adding another on Saturday as his Hoffenheim beat Augsburg 2-1, Nelson scoring the winner just two minutes after he was introduced from off the bench with a smart, side-footed finish to control a rebound from inside the penalty area — the finish looks easier than it is.

It has been a sensational start to the season for Nelson. He has displayed his qualities throughout the year thus far, and with Arsenal’s wing problems still persistent, most notably due to Mkhitaryan’s problems, there are some that have called for Nelson to be recalled from his loan.

I am not quite ready to make that argument yet. We are still dealing with a very small sample size here, and it would be extremely reactionary to suggest that Nelson is better than Mkhitaryan because of a few games worth of success in contrast to a full career of productive play.

But the very fact that the question is even being asked is evident to the kind of form that Nelson is currently in, and the kind of troubles that Mkhitaryan is having. It is, I believe, still a little short-handed to suggest that Nelson is better than Mkhitaryan.

But with the age difference between the two and the potential of the Hale End graduate, perhaps it might be better to now invest in the one not currently in north London.