Kylian Mbappe is the only teenager in Europe’s top-five leagues to score more than Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson so far this season.

Over the weekend, Nelson became the third-youngest player in Bundesliga history to score five league goals. He was only 11 days shy of former Gunner Lukas Podolski’s record, emphasising just how young he still is. He got his fifth goal in style against Bayer Leverkusen, firing into the top corner:

https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1058769674362609665

The 18-year-old has more goals than league starts for Hoffenheim so far, and only Mbappe’s ridiculous 11 goals in eight games can beat Nelson’s goalscoring record for teenagers across Europe’s top-five leagues this season.

Even then, Mbappe is a year older and starting more regularly for a very strong PSG side. He’s also one of the biggest talents in football for many years though, so it’s probably better not to compare Nelson to the Frenchman.

As a result of Nelson’s fine loan form, some Arsenal fans are calling for his return in January.

However, it’s probably better to give the youngster a full season of regular game time to go through the highs and lows of top-tier football, away from the pressured environment at the Emirates Stadium. Nelson probably has 15 years at the top level ahead of him, there’s no rush.