Reiss Nelson was on the verge of leaving Arsenal for £20m but Unai Emery intervened to stop his departure

Unai Emery reportedly blocked Reiss Nelson’s exit from Arsenal last summer because he saw a big future for the young forward.

The 20-year-old forward is thriving under the leadership of new Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and capped a superb performance against Leeds in the FA Cup by scoring the winner.

Nelson, who has starred in the youth ranks at the Emirates, has always had a big admirer in the shape of former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

The Frenchman once described him as one the best 15-year-old player he’d ever seen and Arteta is keen to give Nelson a run in the first team to prove himself.

However, it might have been a very different story for the winger if it wasn’t for Emery, with the Athletic reporting that the Spaniard stepped in to keep him last summer.

The north London club were set to receive £20m from the sale of Nelson, but Emery wanted the youngster to stay and be given the chance to prove himself, meaning Alex Iwobi was instead sold to Everton for £30million.

Arteta is expected to nurture the talent of Arsenal’s academy and the Arsenal boss praised Nelson after the narrow victory over Leeds.

“I am very pleased with him, how he’s training, how he’s reacting, how willing he is to learn,” he said.

“He’s asking the right questions, I know about his ability, I’ve known him since I was here and I coached him when he was 16. ‘I know his potential and now he needs to put things away.

“I am really, really pleased with Reiss, I think he needed that goal as well for his confidence. ‘He needs to improve his end-product a little bit in the final third, but he’s doing all the right things.”