Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson is confident that he can be a hit at the Emirates Stadium this season, having been given the opportunity to start the club’s first two Premier League games of the 2019-20 campaign.
The 19-year-old attacker was shipped out on loan to Hoffenheim last season, where he proved a roaring success in the Bundesliga by scoring seven times in 23 outings, while he also earned Champions League experience.
Having impressed in pre-season, he has been given game time already this season and is confident of winning more thanks to the attitude of manager Unai Emery, who tells his youngsters to go out and play without fear.
“I think this could be my time,” Nelson told the Gunners’ official website. “I need to just keep training hard and getting all the information from the coaches and the players. If I do that, I'm going to have a big, big shout this season.
“It's about taking those steps, doing the easy thing and getting the basics right first. Once I do that, I think I will get chances. Then it's up to me to perform and do well for the team.”
Nelson explained why the former Paris Saint-Germain coach is such an important influence on the club’s academy graduates.
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“Unai's very positive and always telling you to express yourself, but also he's got that thing where he'll tell you if you do something wrong,” he said. “I think that's good for a coach to have two sides: the jokey side and the fiery side.
“For me, especially, it helps me a lot to continue to improve and keep going. He helps a lot of the young players because there were a lot of them who came on the pre-season tour. He told them to be themselves, if they made a mistake just carry on. He helps them grow and gives them a great chance.”
Nelson did not feature at all during Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat by Liverpool last Saturday, with Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette preferred to join Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the forefront of the attack.
He will hope to force his way back into the squad for Sunday’s London derby against Tottenham – the final match before the first international break of the season.
