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#2 Signing him may harm the development of Reiss Nelson
While a player as talented as Wilfried Zaha would undoubtedly help any side – including Arsenal – it may be the case that the Gunners already have a player with the potential to be just as good as Zaha on their books already in the form of England U21 international Reiss Nelson. Nelson spent 2018/19 on loan at Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, but he’s already made his intentions to break into the Arsenal first team for 2019/20 known.
Obviously, Zaha is more of a proven commodity than Nelson at this stage in his career, but when Arsenal have such a bright young talent already on their books, would it really be worth splashing a massive amount of cash on Zaha, who would likely keep him away from first-team opportunities? Sure, you could perhaps argue that Arsenal could play both – with Nelson on the right and Zaha on the left – but with Emery choosing to switch formations so often judging by last season, the likelihood is that they could be competing for the same spot.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to compare the two; obviously, Zaha played far more minutes last season, ending with 3040 minutes compared to Nelson’s 628, but Nelson managed an excellent 7 goals compared to Zaha’s 10. And while Zaha bagged 5 assists to Nelson’s 0, the England youngster created more chances per 90 minutes – 2.3 to 1.6. Nelson’s dribbling success rate per game was also slightly higher, at 48.5% compared to Zaha’s 45.4%.
None of this proves that Nelson is a superior player to Zaha, of course; Zaha is far more proven at the Premier League level. But what it does suggest is that Nelson probably deserves a chance in the Arsenal first team and if he does reach his potential, the need for Zaha would largely be negated.
Add in the fact that Arsenal also have the capable Alex Iwobi who plays in a similar role – and incidentally, had a dribbling success rate higher than both Nelson or Zaha (54.1%) – and you’ve got to question whether they truly need the Crystal Palace man.
