Arsene Wenger Says The Ox’s Exit “Opens The Door” For Arsenal Starlet

By The Editor
on 9th September 2017

Arsene Wenger is a fan of Reiss Nelson…

Where could @reissnelson fit into the squad this season boss?

A post shared by Arsenal Official (@arsenal) on Sep 8, 2017 at 3:21am PDT

Arsene Wenger says that the departure of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool opens the door for Arsenal starlet Reiss Nelson to make his breakthrough.

Nelson is clearly the talent being billed as the next youngster to make the journey from the development squads to the first-team, a bridge Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi have crossed in recent years.

The 17-year-old was the most exciting youngster who went away with the first-team squad during pre-season, and he’s carried that form into the new campaign.

Despite his age, Nelson has netted six goals in his first four games for the U23s, which has led to calls for Wenger to include the England U21 star in the first team.

“He can be one of the three strikers or a wing-back,” Wenger told Arsenal Player.

“The only thing you could say is that he is more of an offensive-minded player than a defensive-minded player but he has to learn that part of the job as well.

“Overall I believe he has a good spirit and wants to learn. That’s one of the possibilities for him. the fact that Chamberlain left opens a little the door for him.”

Wenger has too often claimed that he has his eye on a youngster, only for him to get cold feet and feel that the results are too important for them to be included.

Even in the case of Alex Iwobi, the midfielder was relegated to the U23s towards the backend of last season as Wenger was under pressure to deliver a result.

Fans need a lift against Bournemouth and with the absence of a new signing, starting Nelson may just do the trick.