Reiss Nelson names the Arsenal player who has helped him most since joining up with first team

David Luiz

Arsenal forward Reiss Nelson has praised David Luiz for helping him on the pitch this season.

The Gunners completed the signing of Luiz from Chelsea on transfer deadline day last month.

And Nelson, who has become part of Unai Emery's first-team squad after spending last term on loan at Hoffenheim, says Luiz has already been a huge help.

"It's a great feeling to have a lot of big characters in the team who are willing to help the younger players come through and help them do well," he told Arsenal.com. "You see the likes of Laca, Auba and Granit who are all big players in the team.

"David Luiz is a new addition and he's always talking to me, always talking about the mental side of football. You can have a bad pass or a bad shot, but you need to do this to take the risk. You need to shoot to score the goal. If it goes wide, you just need to keep going and keep your head up. I think that helps you a lot."

Nelson was included in Emery's starting XI for the first two Premier League games of the campaign against Newcastle and Burnley.

The forward was then an unused substitute in meetings with Liverpool and Tottenham, but he hopes to continue improving and force his way back into the line-up in the coming weeks.

"To be starting in the Premier League is a big achievement because I didn't think I would start the first two games of the season," he added. "I think that's a very big statement from the manager as well, to play me in the first two games with the likes of [Nicolas] Pepe and [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, world-class players, on the bench.
 
"I thought the manager would have eased me into it, but I did well against Real Madrid and in a couple of other pre-season games, so when the chance came, I took it well. Newcastle was a very tough game because they're a very physical side and I think I did well, but I didn't create as much as I wanted to.
 
"Against Burnley I struggled because they are very physical, and I think I got caught on the ball a couple of times too. That's the thing with football: you have some good games, you have some bad games but the main thing is that you go back, you recap and next week you're ready to fight again. That's the main thing."

Arsenal will travel to Vicarage Road to face Watford when the Premier League resumes this weekend.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).