Arsenal: The Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka rivalry perfect for both

Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka are now competing for a starting wide berth in Arsenal’s starting XI. Such a rivalry is perfect for their development.

There is always a natural motivation to go easy on young players. Because they do not have the natural experience of veteran players, are presumed to lack the same steel and self-belief, and are inherently more inconsistent, their confidence going through peaks and troughs as a result, it is easy to see why treating young prospects carefully, positively, encouragingly is viewed as sensible.

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However, while that line of thinking does at least seem wise, it also forgets that young players are used to being competitive. They have been competing throughout their development in academies. They have competed to reach the fringes of the first-team set-up. They play a competitive sport. Challenging them is natural.

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Arsenal have a whole host of young players coming through the system. Some have already broken into the first team, including in the Premier League. Others are beginning to make their mark on Unai Emery’s squad. How Emery manages them and their development over the coming years will go a long way to determining the success of his tenure. They are now the crux of this present squad and certainly the squads of future seasons.

At left-wing, Emery has two burgeoning talents both vying for a starting role — with Alexandre Lacazette’s injury, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has moved into a central role, vacating the left-wing position. To start the year, 19-year-old Reiss Nelson was his preferred option. Nelson started the first two games of the season. But last week against Eintracht Frankfurt and again versus Aston Villa in the Premier League, Emery turned to 18-year-old Bukayo Saka, seemingly demoting Nelson down the pecking order.

Saka was superb in the first of those appearances, scoring a terrific goal from the edge of the penalty area before assisting Aubameyang’s late breakaway goal. He then did little wrong against Villa, though was substituted at half-time after Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ red card necessitated a reshuffling. In those two games, he created four ‘big chances’, more than any other player, and posed a serious threat with his direct dribbling ability and wicked left foot.

But then, in Tuesday night’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest, Nelson responded to the challenge. He was Arsenal’s primary attacking instigator, playing a key role in the opening goal, assisting the second, and then scoring the fourth. Saka started on the bench but looked lively when he was introduced for Emile Smith Rowe after the latter suffered a concussion.

It remains to be seen which of these is currently ahead in Emery’s thinking. But with a trip to Old Trafford looming and still several more matches before Lacazette’s return, the pair will be competing with one another to prove that they are capable of and ready for first-team action. And this budding rivalry is perfect for both of their developments.

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Rather than play nice, looking to share around the game time like a toy at a nursery, Emery should use this competition to his advantage. First-team action should be dangled in front of the pair like a carrot. Make them fight one another. Make them compete. Young players need protection, yes, but they also need to be pushed. Nelson and Saka are pushing one another right now, and they both might benefit as a result.

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