Reiss Nelson says he held no talks over leaving Arsenal this summer, and it would be amazing to sign a new deal to stay.
Following his two goals and an assist on Sunday, Reiss Nelson’s stock is pretty high at Arsenal right now. The winger wasn’t getting many games before this weekend, but he’s certainly done his chances of further minutes no harm.
Nelson is one of the only players in the Arsenal squad whose contract expires this summer, if you exclude players with options to extend like Mohamed Elneny, William Saliba, and Bukayo Saka.
Until Sunday, that wasn’t a major talking point. But with Nelson showing he can add value to Mikel Arteta’s squad, he says he’d be happy to extend.
“Arsenal is a team that I’ve been at since I was eight years old and I have a very, very strong bond and love for the club,” Nelson said.
“I only have some months left on my contract but at this moment [in] time, getting a new deal, of course, that would be amazing and I would love to commit to the club.”
Fabrizio Romano reported recently that more than three clubs made enquiries over a loan for Nelson in the summer, but Arsenal decided to hang onto the winger.
Arteta was reportedly very happy with Nelson’s approach to training, so he didn’t want to lose the 22-year-old.
Yet Nelson claims the possibility of a departure was never really on the table to begin with.
“Of course, there [have] been times where I’ve been a bit down when I haven’t played or been on the bench, but my plan has never been for me to leave the club or say that I have no future here – and I will do everything possible to get there,” Nelson said.
“There were no talks with me about leaving in the summer.”
A boyhood Arsenal fan at heart, perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising Nelson is keen to stay for the long term. But Arsenal will need to show him he can play regularly, and Nelson will need to prove he can produce Sunday’s form consistently.