An interesting stat to find out would be how many people included Reiss Nelson in their FPL team this weekend. Did anyone out there take a punt on the 22-year-old, who hadn't made a Premier League appearance this season before today? Did anyone out there make him their captain?
Prior to Arsenal's 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest, Nelson was in danger of becoming the forgotten man at the Emirates. Loan spells at Hoffenheim and Feyenoord appeared to have done little to endear the winger to manager Mikel Arteta, who has seemed unwilling or unable to take Bukayo Saka out of his team over the last two years.
When you're struggling for minutes as a footballer, sometimes a moment of pure chance is the only thing that can kick-start your career. In Nelson's case, that moment of chance came when Saka was forced off with an injury in the first half against Forest. And boy, did he take that chance.
70 minutes, two goals and one assist later, and Nelson is now the name on every Arsenal fan's lips as the Gunners return to the top of the Premier League. Forest were poor, no doubt, and Arsenal would probably have won without Nelson's help. Even so, the South London-born winger was star of the show by some distance, offering a constant threat down the right and giving Renan Lodi nightmares for weeks to come.
Though Arsenal have been excellent so far this season and deservedly sit atop the Premier League, much has been made of the perceived lack of depth in Arteta's squad. Many fans have expressed scepticism over the club's title chances, questioning their ability to play at this intensity for an entire campaign. This performance from Nelson suggests Arsenal may have nothing to worry about in that regard.
With Arteta's ostensible first XI playing to such a high standard, the rest of the squad know they have to seize any opportunity that comes their way. There is a hunger in this Arsenal side, a desire to bring the best out of one another, and that means players who come into the side do so with a major point to prove.
From Nelson to Kieran Tierney to Takehiro Tomiyasu, every player who has come into the starting XI as a result of an injury has stepped up and made a serious case for their continued selection. There can be no resting on laurels from Arsenal's stars anymore; everywhere you look in their squad there are hungry, young players, champing at the bit for their chance to impress the manager and feel the love of the revitalised Emirates crowd.
This Nelson performance might be a one-off. Maybe Saka's injury will be minor and he'll be back in the team next week, relegating Nelson's virtuoso display against Forest to a footnote in Arsenal's season. But whenever Saka does return to the side, he now knows there is a player behind him in the pecking order who is ready and waiting to do his job better than he can. For Arteta and Arsenal, that can only be a good thing.
Source : 90min