The Arsenal star finally starting to prove his worth

There isn’t a great deal to cheer about in north London right now. Just two matches ago and Arsenal fans had allowed themselves a modicum of belief that the top four could be achieved. That’s gradually fizzling out.

Injuries, collectively poor performances and repeated tactical mistakes from Mikel Arteta have risked derailing the season. Champions League football is still on the cards despite the size of the mountain to climb growing ever larger, with some now looking down as opposed to up.

But what about that which is taking place away from the Premier League? What about someone who for the first time in years isn’t looking down, and is himself starting to look up?

It’s not been an easy couple of seasons for Reiss Nelson at Arsenal. From featuring 17 times in the top-flight and 22 times overall in the 2019/20 campaign, Nelson would follow that up with just two Premier League appearances in the Gunners’ ill-fated campaign last term.

Reiss Nelson is the forgotten Arsenal star finally starting to show his quality in senior football with 6 goal involvements in last 7 Feyenoord matches

Some strong performances in the Europa League that season hinted towards more frequent involvement, but even then he completed just 243 minutes across the competition as Arsenal crashed out in the semi-final stage.

His career had hit a crossroads and he saw the season out briefly featuring for the Under-23 side. Injuries hadn’t helped him, and with the summer approaching it felt inevitable that a move away would materialise. That hadn’t expected to be a permanent one until Nelson surprised many when he signed a 12-month extension at Arsenal before joining Feyenoord for the 2021/22 campaign.

Struggling to adapt to new training methods and the league, he didn’t start an Eredivisie match for his new club until his 12th attempt, by which point a lack of form and further injuries resulted in bit-part showings.

With it beginning to look like another loan move abroad would fail to produce the desired outcome, something twigged. Nelson finally appears to be finding his feet.

In his last seven matches in all competitions he’s scored two goals and laid on four assists, recorded a 90% passing accuracy, created 14 chances and completed 19 dribbles. The stats only tell us so much, though, and the fact he was brought off before the 60-minute mark against Heracles, before his other teammates, indicates his importance.

Nelson had scored one and set up two others in the game, but with Feyenoord traveling to Slavia Prague for the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final clash just four days later, manager Arne Slot did not want to risk a key player. From being a bench option for months, the 22-year-old has wrestled his way into the starting lineup.

At last it would appear he’s starting to prove his worth. The key being that he is only starting. Considering the regard he was once held in, there is a long way to go on that front.

Once heralded as one of Hale End’s finest emerging talents, Nelson’s career has stagnated. Demonstrating consistency for the remainder of the season is paramount if he wants to attract the highest calibre of club he can in the summer. With just a year remaining on his deal at the end of the season there is certainly the option of an extended stay in Rotterdam for him, yet if he has his sights on a Premier League move there will need to be a lot more shown.

Importantly, this is the first full season of senior football he’s had. While he’s still only started 11 matches in all competitions, being in and around the first team and clocking up over 1,000 minutes has been vital for him. His job now is to keep his place as one of the first names on the teamsheet.

A player who hasn’t, and likely never will, live up to his billing is at least beginning to demonstrate his quality on senior football. It’s great to see him playing with a smile on his face again.