Arsenal soften stance on £20m transfer as sources confirm teammate exit

Arsenal are reportedly prepared to let academy graduate Reiss Nelson leave this summer – as TEAMtalk sources reveal that a Gunners teammate is set for a loan move.

The Arsenal winger has racked up 89 appearances and scored eight goals since making his first-team debut in the 2017/18 season.

That is not a great deal of game time over seven years and to make matters worse, just 35 of those have been in the starting XI.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta previously described Nelson as a “special player” but he remains on the fringes at the Emirates.

That led to the 24-year-old reportedly telling Arteta, who was keen to keep onto the wideman as he wants as strong a squad as possible, that he wanted to ‘assess his options’ for a potential transfer exit this summer.

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This was a rather different tone than the one the winger, who had loan spells at Hoffenheim and Feyenoord in the 2018/19 and 2021/22 campaigns respectively, struck six months ago.

When asked if his focus was on breaking into the first team in January, he said: “Yeah. I have said this before, but Arsenal is my club since I was eight years old. Of course, I want to be playing much more than I am right now.

“It’s good to be coming off the bench, but I want to be starting. I feel like I am proving myself every day in training, so with this momentum I want to go on and keep playing more.

“I signed my contract, I am here now and I have just got to prove to the boss that I deserve more minutes. Like I said, when I get chances to play I can prove myself and show everyone what I can do.”

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Nelson, who has scored eight goals and bagged nine assists for Arsenal to date, has been linked with Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Ham, and Nottingham Forest and now it seems a transfer move could be closer than ever before.

Nelson exit on the cards

According to Fabrizio Romano, a departure for Nelson – whose contract runs until 2027 – appears likely, with the club wanting to get at least £20m for his services if sold.

He is behind Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli in the winger department and his chances of game time next season are likely to be remote unless anything drastically changes.

Another Arsenal player who is not getting a look-in under Arteta is striker Mika Biereth. The London-born forward, who has represented Denmark at youth level, is yet to make his Gunners debut.

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He joined from Fulham in 2021 and has since had loan spells at RKC Waalwijk, Motherwell, and Sturm Graz in recent seasons. Before he joined the Austrian side in January, he spoke excitedly about the prospect of fighting for titles there.

Arsenal youngster to head out on loan

In May, he said: “I was in Scotland playing for Motherwell and then my agent rang me and said there was an opportunity to come to Austria and fight for a title in the league and the cup.

“I spoke to (Arsenal academy manager) Per [Mertesacker] before the move, discussed it, what he thought, what I thought, and to me it was almost a no-brainer.

“This is the best level I’ve played at so far in terms of being a part of the squad and playing every match day. The players here are really good and really talented.”

After spending the second half of last season at Graz, where he scored nine goals and helped them win the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup, TEAMtalk can reveal SK are poised to bring him back on loan for next season.

Sources have confirmed that Arsenal are happy to loan the 21-year-old out again to ensure he plays regular football.

Sturm Graz sporting director Andreas Schicker did say they would like to sign him “permanently” but for now, that has not come to pass.