AC Milan made an attempt to try and sign Reiss Nelson from Arsenal. This was on a free transfer before he decided to renew, it has been revealed.
There were some doubts about Nelson’s future heading into the summer. Given that he struggled to get consistent playing time last season under Mikel Arteta. And with his contract entering the final few months.
In his CaughtOffside column today, Fabrizio Romano revealed that there were a lot of teams keen on the 23-year-old. This is with Milan and Brighton among the teams who expressed an interest in landing him.
Ultimately it was Arteta that played a key role in convincing him to stay. As well as the possibility of playing in the Champions League at the team he came through the academy of.
Reiss Nelson has full commitment towards Arsenal
Fabrizio Romano went on to say:-
“The good news continues for Arsenal as Reiss Nelson has signed his new four-year contract to commit his future to the club,” Romano said.
“I’ve spoken about other clubs also being interested in Nelson and I can reveal here that AC Milan, Brighton and also one French club were the teams who explored this possibility.
“There was really strong interest in Nelson but he decided to stay, he loves Arsenal and he’s happy to play Champions League football next season. This was an important factor, including his conversations with Mikel Arteta.”
The most memorable of those came earlier this season when he scored a dramatic late winner. It came after coming off the bench in Arsenal’s 3-2 success against Bournemouth. Nelson has featured frequently as a substitute in recent games for Arsenal. Although he missed the defeat to Nottingham Forest due to illness.
Clearly, Arsenal have trust in the winger despite his lack of appearances this season. And the fact he was loaned out to Feyenoord last term. Romano claims the decision is now “up to the player”, though Arsenal have certainly gone big in their efforts to retain Nelson.
