What Nelson has previously said about Emery as Villa eye Arsenal star

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Arsenal are in danger of losing Reiss Nelson to Aston Villa, with Unai Emery apparently keen to sign the 23-year-old in the summer.

The winger’s contract with the Gunners expires at the end of the season. And it appears that the race for his signature is hotting up, with a raft of teams now being linked with a potential move.

According to reports from the Daily Mail, Aston Villa want Nelson this summer, with Emery looking to be reunited with the youngster having worked with him at the Emirates.

Obviously, it is an exciting time to join Villa. They are flying up the Premier League table. And with opportunities proving to be difficult to come by at Arsenal, Nelson will surely be tempted by the chance to move to Villa Park.

What Nelson has previously said about Unai Emery

Certainly, it appears that he would be open to the possibility of working with Emery again.

Nelson gave an interview to Arsenal’s YouTube channel in 2019 and he was full of praise for the Spaniard, particularly over the way he works with younger players.

“He’s very positive. He’s always telling us to express yourself, but also he’s got that fiery bit where he would tell you if you’ve done something wrong. That’s good for a coach to have two sides,” he told the club.

“You can have the jokey side and have the fiery bit. For me especially, it helps me a lot to improve and keep going. He helps a lot of the young players as well. There was a lot of young players that came on the pre-season tour and he was telling them to be themselves, if they make a mistake, carry on. It helps them, helps them grow and gives them a great chance.”

Nelson faces a really tricky decision this year. It will be interesting to see whether he seeks the advice of Eddie Nketiah who ended up signing a new deal last season after months of speculation.

Nketiah was always likely to struggle for consistent minutes. And yet, he decided to sign a new contract and stay at the Emirates.

Nelson has only made five substitute appearances in the Premier League this season. So he is surely going to struggle to justify staying if he receives no assurances over how much he is going to play in future.

The chance to join a club like Villa is going to be difficult to reject. They are flying under Emery. And the 51-year-old is a manager he knows well already.

It is likely to take something special to lure Nelson away from Arsenal. The Villans may well feel that they can offer it.