Reiss Nelson Leverkusen HoffenheimGetty

Emery opens door for loanee Nelson to make early Arsenal return

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has suggested that Reiss Nelson has a big future at the Emirates Stadium and is looking forward to calling him back to the club from Hoffenheim next year.

The 18-year-old starlet joined the Bundesliga outfit on a season-long loan back in August, just after signing a new three-year contract extension with the Gunners.

The Englishman left to secure regular playing time over the course of the 2018-19 campaign and he has managed to do just that, featuring in 10 games across all competitions for the German side, scoring five goals.

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Reiss Nelson has scored as many goals as prolific Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski so far this term, and his latest strike against Bayer Leverkusen highlighted exactly why he is considered such a talented prospect .

The youngster curled home an exquisite opening goal for Hoffenheim during their 4-1 home win, and Arsenal boss Emery admits he is delighted with the progress he has made at the start of the season.

"He can take responsibility, minutes and confidence in a team where he can play more,” the Spanish boss told the media. 

“Then the objective with him is to come back with us and grow with this experience. My experience in Spain and France is that with this loan the player can achieve this.

"With Reiss, we are very happy with him at the moment. We follow him every match. We are thinking about how he can help us in the future."

Reporters then asked the 47-year-old coach if there was any possibility of Nelson being recalled to north London ahead of schedule in January, to which he replied: "At the moment we don’t speak about that.”

Next up for Hoffenheim is a home clash against Augsburg in the league on Saturday, and Nelson is in line to feature once again as the team chases a place in the top six.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are in Europa League action on Thursday night against Sporting at the Emirates, before another home game in the Premier League against Wolves on Sunday.

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