Arsenal have confirmed their second addition of the summer as Reiss Nelson has rejoined the club after briefly becoming a free agent.
The forward, who etched his name into folklore with a last-minute strike against Bournemouth last season, was out of contract this summer and had been expected to leave the club amid interest from Brighton and AC Milan, but a last-minute offer from the Gunners forced him to reconsider.
Now, he has penned a new four year deal with his boyhood side, which includes the option for a fifth year and could see him remain at the club until 2028.
Our Reiss. Here to stay ❤️ pic.twitter.com/hTROO5YpXB
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 6, 2023
Mikel Arteta told the Arsenal media: “Reiss is a player I have admired since the first day I was here. He has tremendous ability & is such an exciting offensive talent. Reiss knows how important he is to our squad with the quality he has. It’s great that Reiss has committed his future to us – he knows the club so well, he grew up here & we look forward to enjoying many more good moments with him.”
Meanwhile, Edu Gaspar added: “Reiss is still only 23 years old but has already made a significant contribution to Arsenal for many years. He has gained good experience on loan, has come back & showed just how valuable he is to us. We are so happy to agree a new deal with Reiss & we are proud that he is another young player who has developed through our academy into our first-team.”
Having not managed to start a Premier League game last season and with just 200 minutes to his name in the top flight, the 23-year-old will be expecting a bigger role in the squad next season and could provide some valuable cover for Bukayo Saka, who started 37 of Arsenal’s 38 Premier League games last season.
Two down, three to go
They have scheduled medicals for both Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice as the pair close in on Arsenal move in a double deal worth over £140m, while an annoucement is also due to be made for William Saliba, who is believed to have signed his new Arsenal contract this week.
It marks a radical change in direction from Arsenal, who have now managed to do most of their transfer business early as well as tying trio of talents Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel down to long term deals earlier in the season.
Focus is now expected to fall on departures, with Granit Xhaka set to confirm his move to Bayer Leverkusen in the coming days and Nicolas Pepe, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Folarin Balogun among those expected to follow him out of the exit door.
