Arsenal: Reiss Nelson isn’t a January transfer move

Arsenal still need help with their wide-attacking prospects, but recalling Reiss Nelson in January is not the equivalent of an actual transfer.

Arsenal are looking more and more like a club that needs to focus on developing a wide attack. Without wingers, it has fallen to Bellerin to be the primary threat from wide, and he is making it pretty obvious with his four assists (a team lead) that this club is deadly when balls are coming in from wide angles.

Meaning that if the club is cultivated to focus their attack out wide, rather than through the middle, then things might get better. Ozil will be out of the spotlight, Lacazette and Aubameyang will have more consistent opportunities, and the overlap with Bellerin will be deadlier than it is now.

But first, we need wingers. And Reiss Nelson is a winger. A winger who is in the top 10 in the Bundesliga with six goals. He has been a monster for Hoffenheim, even this early on, and naturally, people may see him as the solution.

He isn’t. And I’m not even talking about the fact that he needs to continue his development with Hoffenheim, as he himself admitted. You can’t just yank him back and expect him to carry on where he left off. Give him some time and space to develop.

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I’m talking about the fact that he is still just one winger. Meaning that Arsenal, if they recalled him, would have… one winger.

Alex Iwobi isn’t a winger. He is posing as one, but he isn’t. He doesn’t play the ball wide, he cuts inside, he prefers to play as a No. 10, and it’s hard to count him as something that he isn’t.

We’ve been saying this for awhile, but the Gunners really, really need to invest in a wide threat. There are names out there, like Nicolas Pepe, who would give so much to this club. He would bring a brand new angle of attack that has hitherto gone untapped. Imagine what this club could do if they had legitimate attacking options spread from touchline to touchline.

But not just options – layers of options. As in, not just a No. 10 and a rightback.

Reiss Nelson is ticketed to open up those layers – in time. But right now, let him be, let him do his thing, and in the meantime, we can start laying the foundation for when he does come back.