**Reiss Nelson** has agreed with **Arsenal** to terminate his contract at the club. This act ends an 18-year association between the winger and his boyhood team, whom he signed for as an 8-year-old in 2008.
Before **Bukayo Saka**, **Ethan Nwaneri** and **Max Dowman**, Nelson was the prized attacker on the books at **Hale End**. Frequently playing several years above his age category, he signed his first professional deal in December 2016 after his 17th birthday. Preseason appearances followed in the summer of 2017 against **Bayern Munich** and **Chelsea**, and he was part of the squad that earned success in the **Community Shield** against the _Blues_ before the beginning of the 2017/18 season.
Still part of the Under-23 setup, he helped the _Gunners_ win **Premier League** 2 in 2018. However, first team appearances were limited, so the club decided to send him on loan to the **Bundesliga**.
There, he scored on his debut for **Hoffenheim**, registering seven goals in 29 games for the club. But injuries limited his playing time in the new year, and Nelson was still searching for the moment that would mark his major breakthrough in the men’s game when he returned to the **Emirates Stadium**.
**Unai Emery** departed and **Mikel Arteta** came into the dugout, but little development would occur for the attacker. He was an unused substitute in the 2020 **FA Cup** final against **Chelsea**, and he only received 69 minutes of **Premier League** football in the 2020/21 campaign that saw Saka, **Gabriel Martinelli** and **Emile Smith Rowe** usher in a changing of the guard for the **Arsenal** attack.
Another year-long loan spell took his talents to the Netherlands, where he reached the **Conference League** final with **Feyenoord** in 2022. Nelson was now 22, and at a crossroads with the _Gunners_.
·**Nelson is no longer in limbo**
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The 2022/23 season would mark the first of (so far) four title challenges for **Arsenal**— and a year to remember for Nelson too. **Nicolas Pepe** had moved to **Nice** on loan, so Nelson became a backup for fellow academy graduate Saka. A substitute appearance against **Nottingham Forest** saw him notch his first **Premier League** brace in a 5-0 rout, and his last-minute winner against **Bournemouth** was voted Goal of the Season as the _Gunners_ appeared to be on their way to a first league title in 19 years.
Though that dream died a gut-wrenching death, Nelson’s contributions were enough in the eyes of the club to earn a new four-year contract with **Arsenal** that rewarded him with a £100,000 weekly wage.
Understandably, the club wanted to have an alternative option for Saka on the right wing. But Nelson was barely trusted, earning only 215 **Premier League** minutes in the 2023/24 campaign. A transfer was touted for the player, but his salary package remained a sticking point for any permanent deal.
The arrival of **Raheem Sterling** in August 2024 was swiftly followed with a loan across the capital city to **Fulham**. To Nelson’s misfortune, a hamstring injury in December cut short his campaign.
Almost a year ago, he agreed on another loan deal to play at **Brentford**. By this time, **Arsenal** had long moved on from him as a squad option. Martinelli and **Leandro Trossard** traded wing duties on the left flank while Nwaneri had burst onto the scene as a Saka deputy in the first half of 2025, and **Noni Madueke** had moved for £52 million from **Chelsea** to be a more senior option in the squad role.
Though Nelson’s impact was not game changing at the **GTECH Community Stadium**, it was clear he had no future at **Arsenal**. The **Premier League** champions continue to march on, conscious of their mistakes made in the past by holding out to particular squad members for too long. They have wished one of their own the best in the hope he has the ability to showcase his true talent elsewhere.