It's set to be a massive summer for Arsenal this year, with the gap between themselves and the all-conquering Manchester City seemingly smaller than ever.
However, while Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar will certainly have to add some high-quality players to strengthen their bid for the Premier League title, they'll also need to shed some deadwood.
As talented a squad as the Gunners have, several players should probably be moved on this summer, including one who has been with the team since childhood, although he's now worth considerably less than man of the moment Kai Havertz.
Reiss Nelson's Arsenal career
The player in question is Reiss Nelson, who joined the Gunners' youth academy at just eight years old and has been one of the more prominent Hale End graduates over the last few years, behind the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah.
The Elephant and Castle-born winger made his first team debut off the bench in Arsenal's penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea in the 2017 Community Shield, and his full debut came soon after in a 1-0 League Cup victory over Doncaster Rovers.
He made 16 mostly substitute appearances that season, in which he failed to score or provide an assist, before being sent on a season-long loan to German side Hoffenheim the following campaign, where he did far better, scoring seven goals and providing one assist in 29 games.
Appearances
89
29
32
Goals
8
7
4
Assists
9
1
7
Goal Involvements per Match
0.19
0.27
0.34
The next two years saw the Englishman make more appearances for the first team, but with it clear he wasn't going to be the first choice anytime soon, he went back out on loan for the 2021/22 season to Dutch outfit Feyenoord, scoring four goals and providing seven assists in 32 games.
Last year saw the 24-year-old return to the Gunners' bench, and while he made just 18 appearances across all competitions, he was responsible for a moment that will live long in the memory of Arsenal fans everywhere: that late winner against Bournemouth.
Unfortunately for the Hale End ace, he only played 639 minutes of first-team action across 23 games this season, truly cementing the fact that he has no future at the club, which has been reflected in his valuation.
Nelson's transfer valuation in 2024
According to CIES Football Observatory, Nelson is now worth just €15m or £13m despite still being relatively young and having a £100k-per-week contract set to run until June 2027.
Place
Player
Valuation
Age
1
Bukayo Saka
€150m(£127mm)
24
2
Gabriel Martinelli
€100m(£85m)
23
3
Leandro Trossard
€40m(£34m)
28
4
Reiss Nelson
€15m(£13m)
24
This makes the 24-year-old the least valuable winger in the first team, and by quite some way, with Leandro Trossard coming in above him at €40m, which is about £34m.
It also means that fellow 24-year-old Havertz, last summer's surprise signing, is now worth considerably more, as the German is valued at €100m or £85m by the CIES Football Observatory, which is about seven times more than the Englishman.
The former Chelsea ace – who has had some heroic moments just as Nelson has – cost the Gunners £65m last July, and while he had a slow start to life in red and white, he found his form in the latter half of the season, especially as a striker, and managed a reasonable return of 14 goals and seven assists in 51 games.
His uptick in form, positional versatility, and age have likely seen his value soar throughout the season, and it would be hard to argue against his effectiveness since the turn of the year.
Ultimately, while Nelson clearly has some talent and could play in the Premier League, Arteta does not seem to trust him, and therefore, the club must cash in on him before his stock falls any further.
Harry Kane stars: The Arsenal team if they could only pick & buy Londoners
What if Arsenal employed Athletic Bilbao’s tactics of signing local-born players?
ByMatt DawsonMar 17, 2024