Reiss Nelson needed to convince Mikel Arteta of his worth to the Arsenal team before agreeing a new deal worth around £20m.
The academy graduate's contract in North London expired at the end of the 2022-23 season, leaving his future up in the air. However, after making a number of valuable contributions to the Gunners' title charge last term, he has been rewarded with a new deal thought to be worth £100,000 per week over four years.
Nelson, 23, struggled for minutes in his first full season under Mikel Arteta. He was allowed to leave on loan to Feyenoord in 2021-22, but his form since returning to his parent club has helped the manager make up his mind.
In February, Nelson suggested Arteta had begun to judge him on more than his ability. The Londoner, who was still in primary school when he first joined the Gunners' academy, scored his first goal for the club in 2020 but had to wait until October 2022 to add to it.
“It was pretty clear that we both had the same intentions,” Nelson told The Athletic. “He said he saw a very good change in my mentality and how I approach things.
“He said it was never my football ability, it was just he felt sometimes I could be — not immature — but I didn’t understand the opportunity I had in front of me. That’s something I had to learn at Feyenoord and he wants me to carry it into Arsenal.”
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Nelson scored twice in a 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, before adding a dramatic last-gasp winner when Arsenal came from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 in March. Upon confirming the youngster's new deal, Arteta sang his praises.
“Reiss is a player I have admired since the first day I was here," the manager told club media. "He has tremendous ability and is such an exciting offensive talent. Reiss knows how important he is to our squad with the quality he has.
"It’s great that Reiss has committed his future to us - he knows this club so well, he grew up here and we look forward to enjoying many more good moments with him,” Arteta added. Sporting director Edu, meanwhile, said "We are proud that he is another young player who has developed through our Academy into our first team".
Nelson played 21 Eredivisie games for Feyenoord while also featuring in their run to the Europa Conference League final. He had to wait until late October to feature under Arteta last term but ended the campaign with 11 league appearances and 18 in total.
Reflecting on the news, Nelson made reference to his conversations with the manager. "He told me he's seen a massive change in me and he feels like I'm at the next level and it feels like there's so many more different levels that I can go to.
“So that was the conversation I had with him. And for me, I want to prove to him, prove to everyone around, how many levels I can actually go to and that's what we spoke about.”
