Arsenal: Reiss Nelson is a star, not a bargaining chip

Arsenal have some amazing young wingers, of which Reiss Nelson may be the most exciting. But he’s not some bargaining chip, he’s our next star.

You want to know what made me hate the Wilfried Zaha rumors from the start? It was the report that Arsenal were willing to offer Reiss Nelson as a bargaining chip to land him. We were supposedly willing to offload a 19-year-old who loves the club and lives for the club, for a guy that has only ever been moderately successful in the Premier League.

Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb dumb.

Now, reports are back that we are willing to offer him to Crystal Palace again, this time on a season long loan. Reports are also coming in that Hertha Berlin are interested in taking the youngster on a year long loan.

Are we trying to Serge Gnabry him? Because that’s how you do it. You make him feel unwanted, you make him feel like he isn’t ready when he clearly believes that he is. You don’t give him a chance to succeed.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Reiss Nelson was on the cusp of being ready last year. I still think that he could have fit in quite well had we kept him, but we couldn’t have known at the time how poor our creative attack would turn out to be.

The loan to Hoffenheim was clutch. The initial burst of pure talent gave way to more long-term maturation that will see Nelson benefiting for years to come. And all along the way, all he could say was that he couldn’t wait to be back at the Emirates, playing for his team.

He spoke about how fans were going to be so surprised at how much he had grown and improved, and couldn’t stop talking about the maturation that he went through in Germany.

And now we’re supposedly willing to loan him out again? That’s a major deflation on his progress. It’s just like sending Serge Gnabry to West Brom. And while no loan will ever go as poorly as that, it’s the thought behind it that makes it similar. An obviously talented kid with room to grow into the team, and not being given a priority to do so.

It also doesn’t sound like Unai Emery, which is why I’m not all that worried about anything happening. Nelson will have his chance in the first team this year. At least… he better.