Reiss Nelson dropped down to the Brentford u21s to build up his minutes on Tuesday, with the Arsenal loanee hoping to return to the first-team squad soon.
Jeorge Bird of Arsenal Youth reports that Arsenal loan winger Reiss Nelson played 45 minutes for the Brentford u21s against QPR’s development team on Tuesday night in a Professional Development League fixture.
Nelson reportedly operated on the left wing and created one good chance with a cross, though he also drifted infield into midfield at times.
Though the Arsenal 25-year-old was withdrawn at half time, there were no indications to suggest this was anything other than a pre-planned change.
Six weeks since Nelson’s move to Brentford, he’s still only spent 22 minutes on the pitch, all of which were in the League Cup.
The winger did make the squad as they faced Chelsea on September 13th, but he’s missed out on three Premier League matches since then.
Brentford confirmed that Nelson missed a week of training due to illness, and despite passing him fit and available for the most recent match against Manchester City, the Arsenal loanee ultimately wasn’t selected for the squad.
Presumably, his lack of recent match action is what’s holding Nelson back at this point, hence the decision to include him in an u21 game.
Brentford are next in action away to West Ham United in the Premier League on Monday, October 20th, and Nelson will certainly hope to be involved in that match.