Unai Emery refused to rule out an early return for Reiss Nelson from his Hoffenheim loan but regardless of when he comes back it seems clear the youngster has a major role to play at Arsenal.

Nelson signed a three-year contract extension with Arsenal in August, rejecting interest from Monaco and Real Madrid, before joining Hoffenheim for the season with the promise of more regular football then Emery could afford him at the Emirates Stadium.

The 18-year-old has scored five goals in six Bundesliga matches for Julian Nagelsmann’s side, the most recent a stunning curler from outside the area in Hoffenheim’s win over Bayer Leverkusen, and now has as many to his name this season as Robert Lewandowski.

Nelson has insisted he views his long-term future at Arsenal and Hoffenheim do not have an option to make the loan a permanent one. Even if they did pursue a transfer Emery is keen to bring his young winger back to London.

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“He can take responsibility, minutes and confidence in a team where he can play more,” Emery said of Nelson.

“Then the objective with him is to come back with us and grow with this experience. My experience in Spain and France is that with this loan the player can take this.

"With Reiss, we are very happy with him at the moment. We follow him every match. We are thinking how he can help us in the future.”

Asked whether he would look to bring Nelson back in January, Emery said: “At the moment we don’t speak about that.”

Nelson has made no secret of his own ambitions at his boyhood club and said last month: “I’m just here to play my football in Germany.

“Hopefully I’ll come back in a couple of months – if it’s a year so be it – ready to play in Arsenal’s first team.”