Now he feels ready to return to North London and walk in the footsteps of his boyhood idol Thierry Henry. “It’s a long drive coming up to the training ground and you are surrounded by all these trees,” Nelson told AFP. But having emerged at Arsenal under then manager Arsene Wenger, Nelson said he has learned plenty from Hoffenheim’s 31-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann. The sleepy student town is a far cry from South London’s Aylesbury Estate, where Nelson learned to play football. Nelson said his family made sacrifices back then, and have supported him during a frustrating second half of the season at Hoffenheim.

Source: The Express Tribune April 11, 2019 07:18 UTC