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Arsenal legend Ian Wright has criticized Reiss Nelson for playing too safe as the Gunners secured a crucial 2-0 win against Luton Town on Wednesday, April 3. The Hale End product got a rare opportunity to start on the right flank with Bukayo Saka missing from the matchday squad altogether, but Wright was far from impressed with the 24-year-old.
Nelson has only been a bit-part player for Arsenal and started his first Premier League game this season against Luton. Mikel Arteta made several changes to his starting XI in the game against Rob Edwards' side, with Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe also getting their chances.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright hit out at Nelson for not making the most of his opportunities and not trying to take on the opposition. The former England striker said, as quoted by HITC Sport:
"Reiss Nelson has played a little bit safe. You would like to see him get past Doughty. Go past him and stretch him, like Martinelli would do. We need somebody going that way (in behind) and I think sometimes he is playing a lot of safe balls inside.”
Reiss Nelson looked like a solid prospect when he made his breakthrough into the Arsenal senior setup as a teenager. However, he has not quite been able to establish himself as a key player for his boyhood club and has not even been a reliable rotation option.
The 24-year-old has played just 579 minutes of first-team football this season and has contributed with one goal and two assists. The winger has his current deal at the Emirates expiring in 2027 and could be offloaded in the summer with Mikel Arteta potentially looking to freshen up his squad.
Arsenal star makes big claim regarding the Gunners' credentials
Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has insisted that Mikel Arteta's side are ready to take on the best sides in the world. The Gunners kept up the pressure on their title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Luton Town in midweek.
The north London giants have also made their way to the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season for the first time since 2009-10. They will be up against German giants Bayern Munich with the first leg set to be played at the Emirates on April 9.
Zinchenko believes that the Gunners are ready to face the best teams both in domestic and European competitions. He said:
“Yeah, I won’t lie to you, 100 per cent because it shows that we are ready to compete with the best teams in the world. It’s not easy to play against City away and also Liverpool away and the other teams as well – I don’t want to be disrespectful to the others. It shows that Arsenal are ready to fight for it. We know that we are fighting for something big this season. I can’t tell you this right now because there is still a lot of games to play."
The Ukraine international added:
"We already have this experience from last season, where we were quite far from the others and then in the end we didn’t do what we wanted. This experience we need to take with us and then let’s see what is going to happen. This year all of us we’ve got more experience, we’ve played with each other much, much more and I think we’re improving.”
Arsenal find themselves second in the Premier League table right now. They trail leaders Liverpool by two points and lead third-placed Manchester City by one point.
