Reiss Nelson Praises Unai Emery & David Luiz as He Looks for Permanent Starting Role

​Arsenal wonderkid Reiss Nelson has discussed his start to life as a first-team regular with the Gunners, revealing that his relationships with manager Unai Emery and new signing David Luiz have helped make life easier.

After impressing on loan with Hoffenheim last season, Nelson started Arsenal's first two games of the campaign, although Nicolas Pepe's return to fitness has seen him relegated to the bench once more.

Speaking to ​Arsenal Player, Nelson insisted that he was ecstatic with his start to the season, and praised Emery for putting faith in him so early on in the campaign.

He said: "To be starting in the Premier League is a big achievement because I didn't think I would start the first two games of the season. I think that's a very big statement from the manager as well, to play me in the first two games with the likes of Pepe and [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, world-class players, on the bench.

"I thought the manager would have eased me into it, but I did well against ​Real Madrid and in a couple of other pre-season games, so when the chance came, I took it well. ​Newcastle was a very tough game because they're a very physical side and I think I did well, but I didn't create as much as I wanted to.

"Against ​Burnley I struggled because they are very physical, and I think I got caught on the ball a couple of times too. That's the thing with football: you have some good games, you have some bad games but the main thing is that you go back, you recap and next week you're ready to fight again. That's the main thing."

Nelson then discussed the atmosphere in the dressing room, adding: "It's a great feeling to have a lot of big characters in the team who are willing to help the younger players come through and help them do well. 

"You see the likes of [​Alexandre Lacazette], [​Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang] and Granit [Xhaka] who are all big players in the team. David Luiz is a new addition and he's always talking to me, always talking about the mental side of football.

"You can have a bad pass or a bad shot, but you need to do this to take the risk. You need to shoot to score the goal. If it goes wide, you just need to keep going and keep your head up. I think that helps you a lot."