Arsenal offer Reiss Nelson new contract as they bid to keep hold of super sub wanted by Brighton

Nelson is out of contract at the end of the season

Arsenal have made a third offer to Reiss Nelson to extend his contract at the club as they battle to convince the young winger that he has a future in north London.

The 23 year old, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has enjoyed an impressive run of appearances off the bench for Arsenal this season, most notably with the dramatic late winner against Bournemouth in March that might go down as the most thrilling moment in the Gunners' title charge. Nelson may not be able to overhaul Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka for a spot in the starting XI but Mikel Arteta has made increasing use of him as the season has worn on, bringing him on in eight of Arsenal's last 11 Premier League games.

Arsenal made a new offer to Nelson earlier this week and are eager to convince the youngster to stay. However, a cameo role may not necessarily appeal to Nelson, who CBS Sports first revealed in March had attracted interest from Brighton as well as clubs outside the Premier League including Nice. They may be able to offer a greater first team role than Arsenal, who are looking to strengthen their frontline and have Bayer Leverkusen wide man Moussa Diaby high on their list of targets.

Nelson, who turns 24 in December, made his debut for Arsenal in September 2017 but the Hale End academy graduate has since made just 64 more appearances for his boyhood club, spending time on loan at Feyenoord and Hoffenheim. Sources close to the forward believe the time may have come for him to find a greater role than that on offer to him at the Emirates Stadium.

Talks over Nelson's future coincide with Arsenal's attempts to tie down Aaron Ramsdale and William Saliba to new terms, the former is understood to be close to agreeing a deal that will take his salary over £100,000 a week. The Gunners will soon announce an extension for Bukayo Saka before work turns to extending the stays of Martin Odegaard and Ben White.

Granit Xhaka, meanwhile, is closing in on a £13 million move to Bayer Leverkusen.