Steve Cooper shock as Mikel Arteta gives Reiss Nelson to Leicester City transfer answer

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has refused to comment on the future of Reiss Nelson.

Leicester City are understood to be in talks with the Gunners over a deal for the winger. Negotiations over a loan move for the 24-year-old, with an obligation to buy, are said to have taken place.

But Arteta declined to comment on Nelson’s and Eddie Nketiah’s futures following Arsenal’s pre-season friendly win on penalties against Bournemouth in Los Angeles. He said: “A lot of players have been linked with potential moves; one way or the other, it’s normal.

“We are in that moment in the market. What I really like are the players that we have, with the level that they are showing and especially the commitment that you can see in those two, just the way they have performed.”

Nelson has been a bit-part player at boyhood club Arsenal under Arteta. Despite making a significant impact off the bench at times, he has struggled for starts and was in the Gunners’ 11 just once in the Premier League last season.

In all competitions, he’s made 10 starts over the past two years, but has contributed nine goals and assists. Last summer, he signed a new contract at the Emirates Stadium and so has a deal there to 2027.