Owen Hargreaves says Reiss Nelson‘s stoppage-time winner for Arsenal against Bournemouth will ‘change his career’, as he told MatchDay Extra on Premier League Productions (04/03/23 at 8:10 pm).
The former England midfielder stated that Reiss Nelson, who has been out with a thigh injury for large parts of the season, has previously been deemed ‘not good enough’, but he is now answering those critics.
The 23-year-old has actually been back in action for a number of weeks now, he just hasn’t come off the bench or been in Mikel Arteta’s matchday squad.
But against a resilient and efficient Bournemouth side battling relegation, Nelson was used from the bench and he proceeded to provide an assist and score the most important goal of his career so far.
Given the pressure he was under, it was a composed and breathtaking pint-point shot into the top corner, which just adds to the drama of this chaotic and Hollywood-worthy Premier League title race.
Nelson isn’t the star character, that’s the likes of Bukayo Saka, but the former Feyenoord loanee has certainly put his name up in lights.
“When Mikel Arteta was putting Reiss Nelson on, Arsenal fans were thinking ‘what are you doing?’,” said Hargreaves.
“But he had a feeling, for whatever reason, for Reiss Nelson to come on and affect the game. In 21 minutes, to score one and assist one, that cameo from Reiss Nelson, who has always been a talent, by the way. That will change his career. It will change the trajectory of his career.
“Everyone is saying ‘oh, he’s not good enough’ and he has gone out on loan in different places, such as Hoffenheim, but now he gets to come into a game, where the title is on the line and produce the goods.
“We have seen Nketiah do it and now Reiss Nelson. A huge moment for the young man and for Arsenal.”
IS THE TITLE HEADING TO NORTH LONDON?
At 2-0 down, many Arsenal fans would have been kicking and punching themselves. Whilst their lead, at that time, stood at two points in the Premier League table, ahead of a very, very tough April, they were possibly shooting themselves in the foot.
But this Arsenal team just don’t know what it’s like to be knocked down. From Jorginho’s winner at Villa Park to Nelson introducing himself to the world stage.
Yes, the Hale-End star was known before, but now, he is a world superstar for that effort, which will very hard to be topped, regardless of what he does in his career.
