Arsenal star Reiss Nelson has been left out in the cold this season, having failed to make a single Premier League start.
The winger has performed well in several cameo appearances and in cup competitions, but despite occasional injuries suffered by Gabriel Martinelli, and inconsistent form from Leandro Trossard, Nelson has been left on the bench all season.
The 24-year-old was close to leaving for free last summer, and had plenty of offers on the table, but chose to sign a £100k-a-week contract to commit his long-term future to Arsenal. However, less than 12 months later, he appears close to the exit door.
Reiss Nelson rejected AC Milan offer to stay at Arsenal
Journalist Charles Watts has now confirmed that plenty of teams, including Brighton and AC Milan, wanted to sign the winger last summer, and Nelson turned down some incredible offers to stay at Arsenal.
“Nelson was very close to leaving last summer when his old deal was running out. Brighton were very interested, as were AC Milan,” he told CaughtOffside.
“I’ve been told the offer from Milan was a really appealing one to the winger and there were many at Arsenal who believed that he would end up moving to Italy.
“But Nelson loves Arsenal and Mikel Arteta was happy with the performances he produced over the second half of last season. Arsenal didn’t want to lose him on a free and so they pushed for him to sign a new deal and ultimately he decided to stay put.”
Did anyone benefit from Reiss Nelson decision to stay at Arsenal?
Nelson turned down Milan despite not starting a single game under Arteta last season, but this decision clearly did not sway him as he chose to stay and fight for an unlikely place in the side.
It now seems likely that Nelson will leave in the summer. He is too talented to be sat on the bench all season, and as a homegrown player he would represent pure profit in the transfer market.
Despite his somewhat wasted campaign, when he could have been playing regularly at Milan, Arsenal will have benefitted from Nelson’s decision.
Rather than losing him for free, should he leave this summer, Arsenal could gain a significant transfer fee for a player who has hardly featured. Whilst this may have been a frustrating year for Nelson, keeping him last summer is a decision Arsenal will not regret at all.