Reiss Nelson admits he needed to be convinced there was a place for him at Arsenal before he signed a new contract with the club.
In an interview with ESPN, Nelson admitted he needed to be persuaded to put pen to paper.
“Yeah, because I feel like I’m at a stage now of my career where football is important to me. Of course, with Arsenal, it’s the team I love and the one I’ve been at since I was eight years old. There comes a time where you think about also playing football as well.
“I spoke with Mikel (Arteta) quite a lot of times and he kind of explained the route that he sees for me and the transition that he’s seen in me from previous years to now. We had a good conversation and that changed my mind and I signed.
“I feel like I took my chances when my chances were there [last season]. I feel as a player, sometimes you’re just constantly just waiting, waiting, waiting, and then when you get your chance, you might not be ready for your chance, you know.
"But I thought I was working in the back with a lot of the guys, a lot of the guys were training quite hard with me as well, and I think when I got opportunities to play, I kind of showed what I can do in the minutes that I got.”
Nelson not only scored a brace against Nottingham Forest as a second half substitute, he also inspired the Gunners to a 3-2 comeback victory over Bournemouth with an assist and last-gasp winner.
He was later voted the Premier League’s Gamechanger of the Season for 2023/24.
