Arsenal are in talks with Saturday’s match-winner Reiss Nelson over a new contract.
Nelson’s current deal is due to expire in the summer but he wants to stay at his boyhood club and there is optimism on both sides that an agreement will be reached.
The 23-year-old was the hero against Bournemouth at the weekend, when he came off the bench to score a 97th-minute winner and secure a 3-2 victory that keeps Arsenal five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
Talks with Nelson over a new contract were underway before his dramatic impact on Saturday and it is understood negotiations are at an early stage.
Nelson has been at Arsenal since the age of eight and told Standard Sport in November that he wanted to stay. The winger has struggled with injuries and found opportunities limited this season, and Saturday was his first appearance since the World Cup.
But he has three goals and two assists in just three League outings this season. Nelson is unlikely to be short of offers if he does leave Arsenal at the end of the season. Crystal Palace have previously scouted him and could reignite their interest if, as expected, Wilfried Zaha departs Selhurst Park in the summer.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is an admirer of Nelson after first working with him as a teenager when he was doing his coaching badges in the Arsenal academy.
Speaking to Standard Sport in November, Nelson said: “I have been here for so long and I’m very comfortable here. I am an Arsenal fan and, of course, I want to sign a new contract at the club. I am just going to be ready for anything I get now and give my all for the team.”
With Arsenal short of options in attack, Nelson could see more game-time in the coming week. Gabriel Jesus is still working his way to full fitness after knee surgery in December, Eddie Nketiah is out with an ankle injury and now Leandro Trossard is on the sidelines. Trossard suffered a groin injury against Bournemouth, but Arsenal hope he will return before the international break.
