Reiss Nelson scored yet another goal for the Arsenal u23s on Monday, dropping back down to the academy side after his recent run with the senior team.

Nelson started Arsenal’s youth match against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night, and consistently looked bright throughout the match. The winger’s shooting was a little wayward at first, but the generally very solid Brighton defence struggled to live with his runs at the full-backs all game.

Eventually the 18-year-old found some space in the box, and curled a finish into the corner of the net to give Arsenal the lead. It was the least he deserved, even if the team did then throw away the win in injury time, allowing Brighton to level it up at 1-1. Nelson looked particularly disappointed not to come out on top:

Photo 20 08 2018 20 58 04
Photo taken by Dan Critchlow

Watching on from the stands, Unai Emery can’t have failed to be impressed by Nelson’s performance. He remains one of very few natural wingers in the squad, with the speed, trickery and quality in the final ball to have a lot of success out wide.

The only thing still holding Nelson back is his decision making, which will hopefully improve the more time he spends in the first team. It’s difficult to see him getting in the senior side in the Premier League right now, but I’d be very surprised to see him missing out in the League Cup and Europa League.

If Arsenal want to convince him to stick around, they need to give him chances.