Arsenal starlet Reiss Nelson is on the verge of signing a new contract, according to reports. The Sun say that Nelson has impressed Emery during Arsenal’s preseason, to the extent that he will be offered a five-year deal at the Emirates.
Nelson, now 18, has been at Arsenal since the age of nine and played 146 Premier League minute last season as he began life in the first team.
But he scored in preseason against Lazio and apparently impressed Emery enough that he will look to give the youngster first-team minutes this season.
Nelson only signed his first professional contract two years ago, and so is still on a relatively low wage. Arsenal will move to address that and keep Nelson at the club, although he is not thought to be interested in moving on.
Reiss Nelson and substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored as Arsenal beat Italian side Lazio 2-0 in their final pre-season friendly in Stockholm.
Forward Nelson netted a first-half rebound after Alex Iwobi’s low strike hit the base of the post.
Aubameyang came on at the break and scored with a precise finish.
Arsenal are next in action on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, when they take on defending champions Manchester City.
Unai Emery’s team played Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and PSG in addition to Lazio during pre-season as part of the International Champions Cup, a tournament featuring 18 teams playing at 23 different venues in the USA, Europe and Singapore.
Summer signing Lucas Torreira made his debut in midfield for the Gunners against Lazio, while veteran Swiss Stephan Lichtsteiner came off the bench to also make his first appearance for the club.
Ahead of Emery’s first season in the Premier League, the new Gunners boss revealed that he hoped to have several leaders in his team.
Laurent Koscielny is expected to remain the club’s captain but with the French defender injured until December, Emery wants to figure out who else has what it takes to lead the team in Koscielny’s absence.
“We’ve spoken about that,” Emery said last month.
“My idea is to know every player and to know, also, the personality of the players. And then, I think my first idea is to have five captains in the team. But at the moment, I don’t know the names.”
Emery’s first signing at the Emirates, Stephan Lichtsteiner, showed what he’d be bringing to the club with the tirade he levelled at Swiss teammate Breel Embolo during the World Cup.
Lichtsteiner will certainly be one of Arsenal’s potential leaders while Emery has admitted that playmaker Mesut Ozil is also in with a shout to captain the side.
And Granit Xhaka is the most recent Arsenal player to announce himself as a definite leader in the pack.
But after congratulating Nelson on the goal, Xhaka gave him a no-nonsense reminder of what was expected of him after the youngster was caught out of position moments earlier.
The leadership displayed by Xhaka went down a storm with Arsenal fans.
Nelson made his first senior appearance for Arsenal against Bayern Munich in 2017 International Champions Cup pre-season match. Nelson made his first competitive appearance for Arsenal’s first team in the Community Shield, coming on as a substitute against Chelsea. Arsenal went on to win 4-1 on penalties.
On 14 September 2017, Nelson made his European debut as he came on as a substitute for Theo Walcott at the 82nd-minute mark in the Europa League match against FC Köln. He made his first start for the club against Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup on 20 September 2017.
On 20 January 2018, Nelson made his Premier League debut in a 4–1 win against Crystal Palace, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute.
On 8 April 2018 Nelson made his first Premier League start in a 3-2 win over Southampton. He was subsituted off in the 64th minute for Jack Wilshere.
On 17 May 2018, Nelson won the PL2 Player of the Year award