Reiss Nelson puts a 'rough couple of months' behind him with Arsenal winner

The Gunners had slipped two goals behind against the Cherries before battling back to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory which keeps them five points clear at the top of the table.

<br>It is the first time in over a decade that the Gunners have fought from two goals down to win a league game as Thomas Partey and Ben White drew them level before Nelson's late heroics.

<br>Bournemouth had led through Philip Billing, who scored the second-fastest goal in Premier League history as he turned home with just 9.11 seconds on the clock.

<br>Marcos Senesi doubled the advantage after the break but Arsenal showed a never-say-die attitude to take all three points.

<br>"It's been a rough couple of months for me, just coming back from injury and when that goal went in it was a great moment for me," Nelson told Sky Sports News.

<br>"I have been here all my life, it means a lot to me. It was a great strike. I'm delighted with the goal and hope it is the first of many."

<br>Nelson, 23, is out of contract this summer and was introduced off the bench for his first appearance since November 12, having also been sidelined with a thigh injury.

<br>He set up White's equaliser before scoring a fine winner with the last meaningful kick of the contest as Arteta revealed he now has a selection headache moving forward.

<br>"I always saw the potential," he said of Nelson.

<br>"The talent and the desire for him to do it, but he's at a different level right now. I think emotionally, the experiences that he had helped him.

<br>"Football-wise, it was my decision in the last two games not to play him because we had other options.

<br>"But he was knocking on the door, he's been training really good and it's a good lesson for me and for the coaches that we need him and that he can be really important for the team.

<br>"Everybody is overwhelmed. It was madness from the first seconds with that routine and we defended so poorly.

<br>"Then we had to climb a mountain against 10 men behind the ball. We tried in every single way, we didn't score and suddenly we are 2-0 down from a set play."

<br>Bournemouth had silenced the home crowd as they opened the scoring without Arsenal touching the ball after they treated kick-off like a set-piece routine.

<br>"The kick-off routine, you don't expect to score from that but you hope to catch them out and we did," said boss Gary O'Neil.

<br>"Most teams that come here get despatched fairly easily. We didn't, we came here and put up a good fight.

<br>"I shook hands with Mikel, it was a game he needed to win and I needed something from. We went to battle and he came out on top. If they score a goal they can celebrate how they want."

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/reiss-nelson-puts-rough-couple-months-behind-arsenal-winner">Reiss Nelson puts a 'rough couple of months' behind him with Arsenal winner </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>