Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson has described himself as “over the moon” following his impressive start to his loan spell at Fulham, where he played a pivotal role in their 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at Craven Cottage.
The 24-year-old came off the bench to score Fulham’s third goal, helping his side secure all three points as they inflicted Newcastle’s first defeat of the Premier League season.
Nelson’s goal capped off a dynamic performance, building on the early goals scored by Raul Jimenez and former Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe. His late strike came deep into stoppage time and effectively ended Newcastle’s hopes of a comeback.
Reflecting on his performance, Nelson spoke with enthusiasm about his start to life at Fulham: “I’m happy, over the moon, but it’s the players who have made me feel really welcome from the start. There’s a lot of familiar faces that I know which made it much easier, but I’ve just been training really hard.
“When the ball dropped to me, I was delighted and happy to hit the net,” he said to Fulham’s official website.
This goal marked Nelson’s second in as many games, following his midweek strike in the Carabao Cup defeat to Preston North End, signalling that the Arsenal man is settling in quickly to life at Fulham.
“The manager’s delighted, the players are happy, and it’s a great day for us,” Nelson added, clearly pleased with his contribution to the team. “After last week, we had resilience to bounce back and give the fans what they wanted.”
He noted, “I felt we started really, really sharp, getting the two goals. Credit to Newcastle, they’re a great team, they can score goals when they want, great players all over the pitch, but for us subs, we just tried to make an impact.”
Nelson’s integration into the Fulham squad has been seamless, in part due to the presence of familiar faces from his Arsenal days, with Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi also involved in the match.
Smith Rowe scored Fulham’s second goal, after being set up by Iwobi, while former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno played between the sticks.
Iwobi himself was denied a goal by an excellent save from Newcastle’s Nick Pope, while Smith Rowe had earlier rattled the crossbar with a fierce effort.