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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken of Reiss Nelson, who made a dazzling display against Molde in the Europa League.
He even admitted that he might be used to playing the role of Willian on the right, which he has failed to impress since his arrival.
The Brazilian left Chelsea after seven years following a contract dispute.
The forward moved to North London, agreed to a three-year deal at the Emirates and many praised Arsenal’s business sense.
But that’s already starting to look like a mistake after a poor start to his Gunners career.
And at the age of 32, he is not getting any younger and fans are already unhappy with his contributions.
(Image: Getty Images)
Aside from his debut against Fulham, where he had two assists, Willian has been unable to register any contribution to the goal.
It has coincided with an abysmal spell in the Premier League where the Gunners have not been able to find the net in almost eight hours.
The result has placed them 12th in the table, seven points behind league leaders and local rivals Tottenham.
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But it has been a different story in the Europa League, where Arsenal have already qualified from their group after beating Molde 3-0.
Arteta gave the youngsters a chance and Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe and Folarin Balogun impressed.
And another that caught the eye was Nelson, who has long been rated by Arsenal’s coaches but has yet to find a consistent form.
Of course, there aren’t many 20-year-olds who have, but Arteta saw a spark in Nelson on Thursday night that suggests he could take on a bigger role in the first team after scoring in the win in Norway.
With Willian injured, Arteta admitted that he could replace the Brazilian, saying: “He has made great strides in the last month. He has shown what he can do. He is another player who wants to play all the time. He is very vertical.
“He is a great player who runs behind. He is very unpredictable. I really like that these types of players play in extreme positions.
“Defensively there are things he needs to do better, but he will improve them, but he is a much more mature player.
“He showed a great attitude by saying that he did not want to go on loan because he believes he has the opportunity to play for this football club and he is showing that he wants to go in that direction. He is acting in the right way.”
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