Arsenal have announced that talented 17-year-old Englishman Reiss Nelson has signed his first professional senior contract with the club on the Arsenal.com.
The dynamic attacker, who is considered to be one of English football’s finest prospects, has been at the club since he was seven and is a regular starter for the Gunners’ Under-23 side in the Premier League 2.
Moreover, he made serious waves with England at the Under-17 European Championship last summer, scoring nine goals in 10 appearances for the national team.
Reiss Nelson joined Arsenal FC in early 2007 and has risen through the ranks at the Emirates Stadium. He has developed phenomenally and has made rapid strides towards the first-team setup.
For a player who turned 17 just this month, the right winger has been featuring regularly for Arsenal’s Under-23 side in both the Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League.
While the 17-year-old has managed 3 goals and 3 assists in the Under-23 Premier League, he has also bagged 2 goals in the UEFA Youth League. But looking beyond the goals, it is Nelson’s impressive set of skills and ingrown talent that has caught the attention of top managers and pundits in England.
Actually, the facts speak for themselves. Nelson is still technically a first-year, yet he is already one of the crucial members of the Arsenal U23 side, whilst he has trained with the first-team on a number of occasions and is highly rated by the club’s 67-year old French manager Arsene Wenger himself, who could well give the exciting English youth prospect his first team debut at some point next season.
Although he is usually deployed as a winger, Nelson is also capable of operating as an attacking midfielder and the Arsenal academy star models himself of French legend and current Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane. However, wherever he plays, the England youth international tends to make a significant impact on the proceedings.
Possessing impressive speed, unbelievable ball control, and the ability to finish cleanly, Nelson is a very difficult player for opposing defenders to deal with. The youngster has also become considerably stronger of late, while he is also able to contribute defensively by closing down players, tracking back effectively and winning the ball back.
Nelson will hope to kick-start his senior Arsenal career fruitfully after securing his new deal and would also like to join the likes of the Nigerian youngster Alex Iwobi who made his way to the senior team similarly in the first-team squad soon. We wish him all the best!!
