Arsenal transfer news: Gunners prepared to offload Reiss Nelson on permanent basis

Reiss Nelson
(Image credit: PA)

Arsenal are preparing to offload Reiss Nelson when the transfer market reopens this summer, according to reports.

Nelson has made nine appearances for the Gunners in all competitions so far this season.

Only two of those outings came in the Premier League, totalling just 69 minutes of action in November.

Nelson featured in 22 games last term, having spent the 2018/19 campaign on loan at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.

He has slipped down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta, though, and could be sold at the end of the season.

Indeed, CBS Sports report that Arsenal are willing to listen to offers for their academy product, who first joined the club at the age of nine in 2007.

Arteta has shown a willingness to promote young players since taking charge at the Emirates Stadium in December 2019.

Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe have established themselves as key men under the Spaniard, but Nelson remains on the fringes of the squad.

And with Arsenal needing to raise funds from player sales before they line up acquisitions of their own, Nelson could be sacrificed.

The 21-year-old is under contract in north London until 2023, but he is not expected to see out that deal.

Given that his value will drop if he only has 12 months remaining on those terms, Arsenal will look to cash in this summer.

"We have pace in a few players up front. Reiss [Nelson] is a special player and can eliminate players one on one. He's been out for a while but he's back now and he showed what he's capable of doing,” Arteta said of the forward last year.

Yet despite that glowing assessment of his credentials, Nelson’s days at Arsenal appear to be numbered.

Arteta’s side return to action against Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday.

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