Ian Wright has heaped praise on Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson (Pictures: Getty)

Ian Wright says he is ‘really pleased’ that Reiss Nelson stayed at Arsenal and starred in the 5-0 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest as fans had ‘almost given up on him’.

Nelson, 22, scored two goals and made an assist in Sunday’s thrashing after coming off the bench to replace the injured Bukayo Saka.

The winger, who joined Arsenal at the age of eight, broke into the club’s first-team in the 2017-18 season and made 22 appearances in all competitions the following year.

But Nelson has played just four league games for his boyhood club since then, spending a season on loan at Bundesliga club Hoffenheim and Dutch side Feyenoord before returning to the Emirates last summer.

Arsenal legend Wright believes fans had almost lost hope with Nelson but says he looked ‘energised’ during the club’s pre-season tour and was delighted to see him make an impact in the victory over Forest.

Speaking on the Wrighty’s House podcast, he said: ‘I’m so happy for him. Do you know what I love about him? We’re talking about somebody who people almost gave up on and said he should leave.

‘But it’s like Mikel Arteta has said, “this is a clean slate guys, what have you got, show me what you’ve got.”

‘I thought Reiss would go on loan again. But even at the start of this season when we went to Germany [for a pre-season tour], Reiss was there and I’m not even joking, he look energised and smiley and like somebody who had had the talk [with Arteta].

‘I’m really pleased he ended up staying and his goals [against Nottingham Forest] were great, he was composed and didn’t panic.

‘What that says to me is that from a mental side he’s got himself in a place where he’s ready to take his chances. That was the chance for him, he had to recognise that and he did.’

Arsenal’s 5-0 battering of newly-promoted Nottingham Forest saw the Gunners return to the top of the Premier League following Manchester City’s victory over Leicester City the previous day.

Arteta’s side have four more games before the mid-season break for the World Cup and Wright is desperate for his former club to still be top by the time attentions turn to Qatar.

‘People are constantly talking about Arsenal’s depth,’ he said. ‘The Arsenal haters will say that win was against Forest, calm down. But it’s the mental state these players are in that’s impressing me.

‘This is a crux time and we want to be top by the time the World Cup starts. Everybody is expecting them to fall off but I think they’ve taken a lot from last season. I believe in the team.’

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‘He looks ready to take his chances now.’