Reiss Nelson (20) is considered a great English talent. Unlike his friend Jadon Sancho (19), the right-winger has not yet made his breakthrough. Last season, FC Arsenal’s top talent was loaned to TSG Hoffenheim. However, Nelson does not look back on his time under former coach Julian Nagelsmann (32) with much pleasure.
Under the coach, Nelson was mostly a substitute, and although he played in 23 Bundesliga matches, he was only five of them in the starting eleven (seven goals, one assist). He was also stopped by a back injury in the meantime. Looking back on his time at Hoffenheim, Nelson told The Guardian: “I think that’s when I got to know the other side of football, that it can be difficult. You can’t always have a coach who looks after you or notices how you feel,” he said, “No positive words towards the nail man! There had already been a fuss about the young coach earlier this week when Emil Forsberg’s wife (28) posted on Instagram: “Nobody in the world has the right to treat you like shit. Remember that.” Previously, her husband had sat on the bench for 90 minutes at FC Bayern (0-0).
No big deal for Nagelsmann. “I didn’t take the mail to myself, I don’t treat Emil like shit,” he said at the press conference on Thursday. “It didn’t have my name in it. If I take care of everything that’s on the internet, I won’t be able to keep up.”
Not only at Hoffenheim Nelson had a hard time, but also this season at the Gunners the 20-year-old could not really get a foothold. But the London-born player has high hopes for coach Mikel Arteta (37). “Now is a great time to have him as manager because he understands what I’m good at. He will encourage me when I need it and if I don’t do the right things he will tell me. I believe strongly in Mikel and I think he will make me a top player,” Nelson continued.
He is currently suffering from a thigh injury but hopes to return to the squad on Sunday against Newcastle.