Former Arsenal player Perry Groves believes young winger Reiss Nelson should go out on loan this coming season.

Nelson has emerged as an exciting prospect at Arsenal after he featured in the majority of our pre-season games. The winger, filling in at right wing-back, had an excellent pre-season that culminated in a thrilling performance in the 5-2 win against Benfica in the Emirates Cup.

Groves, who was a winger himself, believes that Nelson should be sent out on loan to gain valuable first team experience, much like Jack Wilshere in 2010. “Wingers are notoriously inconsistent so it’s important he continues to add minutes and consistency to his game,” Groves said to Bwin.

“He needs to continue to dominate in 1 v 1 situations, but the most important thing he needs to work on is his final ball. As a former winger myself, you’re only as good as your final decision. If you look at Oxlade-Chamberlain, he’s matured and developed in that respect.

“He needs to move out on loan and get real game experience, not Under-21 games. Jack Wilshere was a great example of this when he went to Bolton.

“I would like to see Reiss go somewhere that plays a similar style to Arsenal, such as MK Dons – who have a nice reputation of playing a good brand of football.

“He could play as a wide forward in a 4-3-3 or more centrally in a 3-4-2-1 but it needs to be a natural position for him and not a forced one.”

There are similarities between Wilshere and Nelson. Wilshere made his first strides in the first team in pre-season and had impressive performances in the Emirates Cup. He famously went on loan to Bolton Wanderers in the 2009/10 season before making 49 appearances for the first-team the following season.

Nelson is now a part of the Arsenal first team and could be set for runs out in the EFL Cup and Europa League this season. Should he impress, he could be sent out on loan to continue his development, rather than drop back down to the U23 team.

Wenger is known for developing young talent and could well give Nelson a chance to prove his worth in the senior set-up as a result.