Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson admits that he was close to not joining the Gunners as a kid.

The academy product is expected to fight for a first team spot next season after an impressive loan at Hoffenheim.

But the 19-year-old acknowledges that he was very close to signing for Arsenal's bitter rivals Tottenham.

"My brother-in-law was a Tottenham fan. He introduced me to football and brought me to Tottenham. At the time I just wanted to play football so I would go anywhere to play," the England U21 international told the Daily Mail.

"I was there on trial for two weeks. I had a game, played well and then I got home that night and I had a lot of teams calling me. It was so late, and I had school the next morning, but at 12 o'clock Arsenal called and I went directly in the morning to the training ground.

"Arsenal was my dream club, so I would have been kicking myself if I turned that down. I had Thierry Henry's name on the back of my shirts. Then he was the coach of our under-19 squad. His main thing was staying grounded.

"A lot of kids, when they get to 18 or 19, they start getting flashy and forgetting about the real basics of being a professional footballer. He has always said "Be on that and you'll go to the top"."