Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Arsenal secure shock agreement with their most-wanted player to tee up priority Arteta signing

Arsenal stars Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe

Reiss Nelson is ready to sign a new contract with Arsenal after their latest offer to him proved to be too tempting, according to the latest update.

Nelson is due to become a free agent at the end of the season, which means he might only have had one game left in an Arsenal shirt. The Premier League runners-up have been working to renew his deal for a while, though.

Various clubs have been keeping tabs on Nelson in case he becomes available this summer. Just over a month ago, a report revealed as many as eight clubs have been in contact for the winger.

With that in mind, Nelson might actually be Arsenal’s most in-demand player this summer, despite his relative lack of gametime. Indeed, he hasn’t even started a single match in the 2022-23 Premier League.

But some breaking news from The Athletic has revealed that Nelson is about to confirm an agreement with Arsenal, who will be extending his contract for another four years until 2027.

Ahead of their long-awaited return to the Champions League, Arsenal need strong squad depth. Therefore, Nelson – who previously looked more likely to leave – will be hoping they have genuine faith in him for the upcoming campaign.

Once he puts pen to paper, he will be the latest in a long line of players to commit their futures to Arsenal in recent months. Bukayo Saka recently pledged his future to the club, after Aaron Ramsdale did likewise.

Earlier this season, there were also extensions for Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes. It is still on the agenda to try and get William Saliba to follow suit as well.

But it now seems only a matter of time before confirmation arrives regarding Nelson, who has made 65 appearances for the first team to date, scoring seven goals.

He spent the 2018-19 season on loan at Hoffenheim and the 2020-21 season on loan at Feyenoord before his reintegration at the Emirates Stadium for the current campaign, in which he scored a memorable late winner against Bournemouth – one of three Premier League goals from 10 substitute appearances.

Reiss Nelson renewal heightens Arsenal ability to spend in midfield

Interestingly, the report adds that retaining Nelson’s services will allow Arsenal to focus more on their priority signing.

Preparing to offload Granit Xhaka and considering the future of Thomas Partey, who have been Mikel Arteta’s starting midfielders this season, it has become an urgent matter for Arsenal to reinvest in their midfield.

Declan Rice is one of their top targets as he approaches the final year of his contract with West Ham, where he is the captain.

Per The Athletic, Arsenal can now focus more on putting together a package for Rice. If they had released Nelson, they would have had to look at finding a replacement on the wing as well.

It might have affected how much they would have been able to spend on someone like Rice, who would command a club-record transfer fee.

Therefore, by retaining Nelson, Arsenal might be able to better address their squad balance.

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