This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Speaking to Sky Sports (as quoted by Football.London), Arsenal’s interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg has named Reiss Nelson as the “future” of the club.
What did he say?
The Swede took over the reins at the Gunners after Unai Emery’s sacking last week, and enjoyed his first game in charge against Norwich in the Premier League on Sunday.
And speaking before the contest at Carrow Road, Ljungberg named Nelson as someone who has an incredibly bright future at the club, after leaving him out of the match-day squad.
He said: “As the manager, I need to pick the team I believe in. I’ve used a bit of experience, and I think they need to take the lead in a hard time like we’re in at the moment.
“There are difficult decisions to be made, for example I left Reiss Nelson back home in London, which for me is really hard because he’s the future of this club in my opinion, a great talent, but I had to leave him out. Those are the decisions you have to do as a manager, and it’s not always easy. I believe in how people treat me, I give everybody a possibility. I felt that was the best balance of our team.”
Promising
For Ljungberg to personally name-check Nelson, and shower him with such high praise, speaks volumes of how much the Swede rates the winger. The 19-year-old has made just six appearances across all competitions for the senior side this season, with injuries certainly playing their part in his lack of game-time.
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But with club’s former U23s boss at the helm, it gives Nelson some much-needed hope that there may be a turnaround in fortune for him. Having had the experience of playing in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim last season, the teenager is arguably ahead of the rest of the pack when it comes to testing himself at the highest level.
And Ljungberg’s words will certainly act as a source of comfort that he could be seeing more regular game-time very soon indeed.
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