Danny Mills has slammed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for snubbing Reiss Nelson and not giving the Hale End product a true chance to prove his worth at Emirates Stadium.
The 24-year-old has appeared in 17 of the Gunners’ 30 fixtures in all competitions so far this season. But Arteta has only started Nelson in four games, including in Arsenal’s two Carabao Cup ties and sole FA Cup tie. He also opened one of their matches in the Champions League.
Featuring 13 times from their bench has helped to hold Nelson to just 484 minutes of action this term. Arteta has even overlooked the Arsenal academy product for minutes in another 12 games. Nelson has made the Spaniard’s matchday squad in 29 of the Gunners’ 30 matches.
Mikel Arteta has only started Reiss Nelson in four games this season
Arteta has only been without Nelson once so far this season as Arsenal came from behind to beat Manchester City on penalties in the Community Shield. The winger has since been one of Arteta’s most relied-on backups. But Nelson has only scored once and assisted two goals.
Nelson offered his only goal to see Arsenal beat Brentford 1-0 on his first start of the term in the Carabao Cup in September. The attacker had already penned an assist in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven, and would later record another away to the Eredivisie giants.
Danny Mills slams Mikel Arteta for ignoring the Arsenal product
But Mills has now questioned why Arteta does not trust Nelson more often after seeing him in action as Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup. The Hale Ender came in for Gabriel Martinelli last Sunday and enjoyed 62 minutes. But Nelson spurned several chances.
“Reiss Nelson’s a good player,” Mills declared on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel. “He’s got something about him. Why doesn’t he [Arteta] ever give him a game in games where he can [make a case for himself]?
“Yeah, [Arteta will] play him away in Europe away at PSV, who haven’t been beaten at home in god knows how long. [It was a] hard game to come into when you haven’t played many.
“Give him a chance in some games. [Leandro] Trossard gets goals. Maybe, 20 [minutes] or half an hour before the game ends and you’re 0-0 or 1-0 down, maybe go [Gabriel] Jesus and [Eddie] Nketiah up front and stick two wide men on… It’s become a bit predictable.”
Nelson had a number of chances to score just his second goal this season as Arsenal lost to Liverpool. The forward lacked a cutting edge inside the box after taking an extra touch and dwelling on the ball too often. But his runs and general energy often gave Liverpool issues.
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