Reiss Nelson

Reiss Luke Nelson (born 10 December 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Arsenal.

Born in London, Nelson joined Arsenal's academy when he was nine years old and gradually made his way to the first-team, regularly playing above his age group.

Nelson joined the Arsenal Academy in 2008, when he was eight years old.

Throughout his long youth career at Arsenal, he was regarded as one of the club's most promising young players, he often impressed the youth coaches at the club and regularly played above his age group.

Nelson has represented England with every youth international team since debuting for the under-16's in November 2014.

He has played in several youth UEFA European Championships, and he was selected in the 2016 under-17 edition's Team of the Tournament for his performances in England's quarter-final finish.

Nelson is eligible to represent either England or Zimbabwe at senior international level.

Nelson was born in Elephant and Castle, London.

He grew up in the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth and attended the London Nautical School, the school trains young men from inner-London often within Maritime and sporting backgrounds; Nelson played football at the school in conjunction with his training at Arsenal and still acts as a mentor at the school.

He became friends with fellow aspiring footballer Jadon Sancho, who lived nearby, after they played together in youth tournaments; Nelson and Sancho were among many successful footballers from the Borough of Lambeth and South London at the time, including Tammy Abraham, Ademola Lookman and Tashan Oakley-Boothe.

Nelson has described his younger self as a "cheeky chappie" and someone who was "very loud", which he said often lead him into trouble.

Nelson accredits his mother for his success at youth level, for ensuring he got to training on time and working two jobs to sustain both Nelson, his brother and his sister in their youth; he came from a poor family and commuting to and from training was often a "big sacrifice".

Nelson signed his first professional contract in December 2016, following his 17th birthday.

He made his Arsenal debut in the 2017 FA Community Shield before later leaving the club on loan in search of first-team football.

Before making his senior debut in 2017, he was playing five years above his age group.

Ahead of Arsenal's 2017–18 season, Nelson was named in Arsène Wenger's pre-season touring squad travelling to both Australia and China.

On 13 July 2017, he made his unofficial debut for Arsenal against Sydney FC in a friendly; during the game Nelson played on the right-wing, dribbling balls towards the byline setting up teammates Joe Willock and Danny Welbeck regularly.

Whilst on tour, he also played against Western Sydney Wanderers at the Stadium Australia, Bayern Munich at the Shanghai Stadium, and Chelsea at Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing.

Nelson made his first competitive appearance against Chelsea in the 2017 FA Community Shield, he came on as a substitute for Welbeck as Arsenal won 4–1 on penalties, after the match had ended in a draw.

During the season, Nelson was limited to mostly cup and European appearances for the first-team; including five UEFA Europa League appearances, three EFL Cup matches and one FA Cup loss against Nottingham Forest.

After gaining experience at German side TSG Hoffenheim during the 2018–19 season, he returned to Arsenal where new manager Mikel Arteta used Nelson sparingly due to injury.

He then moved to the Netherlands on loan at Feyenoord where he made a positive impact on their season and received more first-team action.

Arteta has since deployed Nelson more regularly as he has developed into an influential player.

He made his Premier League debut in a 4–1 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on 20 January 2018, he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute.

With fellow winger Alexis Sánchez having left Arsenal, it was speculated that Nelson could get an extended run in the first-team in his absence; however, he only made two more Premier League appearances during the season.

Arsenal finished the league season in sixth and Wenger announced his departure from the club.

Still playing youth football for the under-23 side, Nelson helped Arsenal win the Premier League 2, in the Professional Development League; he also helped his side reach the final of the Premier League International Cup.

Nelson scored 10 goals in all youth competitions and was awarded PL2 Player of the Season.

On 31 August 2018, Nelson signed a long-term contract with Arsenal, and new Arsenal coach Unai Emery then sent him on a season-long loan at German club TSG Hoffenheim.

During his Hoffenheim debut against Fortuna Düsseldorf on 18 September, he scored within 14 minutes of entering the match; although it was only a consolation in the 2–1 defeat.

Nelson scored six Bundesliga goals in his first seven appearances for Hoffenheim, including a wide curling strike against Bayer Leverkusen in November.

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann dropped Nelson ahead of Hoffenheim's 2–1 win over 1. FC Nürnberg in what was described as an "educational measure" for being late to training.

Following an injury in January, Nelson struggled to make an impact in the latter stages of Hoffenheim's season, he finished the season with seven goals in 29 appearances for the German side.

Nelson returned to Arsenal following his loan in Germany, he was brought into the first-team along with fellow academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe as Emery looked to focus on youth talent in his second season; he was also given the number 24 shirt in his search for regular first-team football.

Nelson made successive starts in Arsenal's opening two Premier League games against Newcastle United and Burnley; against Burnley he looked to have scored a goal from a slick passing move and a confident top net finish, but it was ruled out for offside in the buildup.

Nelson scored his first senior Arsenal goal on 24 September 2019, when Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest 5–0 at the Emirates Stadium in the EFL Cup third round; it was the fourth goal of the match and it was scored after he received a drilled pass from Calum Chambers.

Nelson received a knee injury whilst on youth international duty in October, and he did not return to the Arsenal first-team until December.

In November, Emery left Arsenal and was replaced by interim coach Freddie Ljungberg, the Swede was later replaced by former club captain Mikel Arteta.

Nelson scored against Leeds United in Arsenal's 1–0 win in the FA Cup third round in January 2020, but was injured later in the month; he later returned from injury against Portsmouth in March.

Following a short suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Arsenal resumed Premier League football in June; Nelson later scored his first Premier League goal against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in July.