Mikel Arteta has been sent a clear message by one Arsenal player who left the club on loan this summer.
Arsenal offloaded a mass of talent during the summer transfer window, whether that be on a loan basis or permanently.
Several Hale End academy products bid farewell to the club, with Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah bringing their association with the Gunners to a close.
The duo joined Fulham and Crystal Palace respectively, with Arteta having to stand firm to continue the development of his squad at the Emirates.
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Reiss Nelson says he had to leave Arsenal to join Fulham on loan
As well as the two painful goodbyes to the academy graduates, Reiss Nelson left the club for the season to join Smith Rowe at Craven Cottage.
Arsenal left it late to sanction Nelson’s loan, as at first, the 24-year-old was expected to join newly-promoted Ipswich town for the 2024/25 campaign.
Instead, the winger joined fellow former Gunners, Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi and Bernd Leno in West London in a deal that he admitted he could not refuse.
Speaking to Fulham’s media team for the first time, Nelson explained why he had to join Fulham on deadline day.
“When you feel like you need more game time I think you have to take a loan opportunity, for me, I couldn’t turn this one down and I’m happy we got it done in the end.”
The Hale End graduates will be together at Fulham after failing to find a place in Arteta’s project, with Nelson sending a clear message to the Arsenal boss regarding his lack of playing time.
Nelson’s scoring record for Arsenal
It’s been a trialling time for Nelson after succeeding the walls of Hale End to make an impact at his boyhood club at senior level.
In the first team, the 24-year-old has racked up 90 appearances for the Gunners although, is yet to have had a shot at being a regular starter at the club.
So far, Nelson has netted eight goals and recorded nine assists in North London, a tally he will have hope of adding to in the future.
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It’s a possibly decisive year for the winger, whose future at Arsenal could be determined by his form in West London, with the Englishman hopeful of hitting his stride under Marco Silva.
As well as commenting on his decision to join Fulham for game-time purposes, Nelson credited the ‘main’ reason as being how he believes he’d fit into the manager’s system.
“That was one of the main reasons [I signed], I like the boss he likes to play out from the back, he likes the inverted wingers, wingers that use either foot and come and combine with the striker. I think that compliments well how I play.”
Only time will tell if Silva can get the very best out of Nelson, who could turn his fortunes at the Emirates around with a statement campaign at Craven Cottage.
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