After 43 years: Last link to Wenger is gone from Arsenal

At first glance, little is different at Arsenal following the end of this year's June Transfer Window.Several players joined the club and several players left, with Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa, and Christos Tzolis, and Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus being the most prominent names in each group, respectively.Barcelona strike gold: Gabriel Jesus arrives for just €10mHowever, the latest departure from the Emirates Stadium is much more meaningful than anyone could imagine, even though it didn't catch many eyes at first.After 18 years at Arsenal – including his academy period – Reiss Nelson and his boyhood club mutually agreed to terminate their partnership a couple of days ago, while the winger joined the Dutch giants Feyenoord as a free agent today, starting a new chapter in his career.🔴 LIVE BLOG: As it happened: All the Deadline Day drama as it unfoldedBut what exactly does the 26-year-old's departure mean and why is it so important, even historic, for the Gunners?After 43 years, Arsenal no longer have any links to arguably their most legendary manager Arsene Wenger.Nelson was the "last Mohican" of the Frenchman's final Gunners' squad from the 2017/18 season.Reiss Nelson (26) is the last player from Arsène Wenger’s final Arsenal squad to leave the club, following his contract termination today. ❌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿End of an era. 💔 pic.twitter.com/pXQPegUPoH— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 27, 2026 Back in 1996, the longest-serving player in Wenger's first Arsenal squad was the club icon Tony Adams, who had made his debut in 1983.Since then, up until Nelson's farewell, there had always been at least one player in the Arsenal team who had played under Wenger.Truth be told, the 26-year-old spent most of his time in the senior squad on loan – at Hoffenheim, Feyenoord, Fulham, and Brentford – but he was still under contract with the Gunners.##NAJAVA_MECA_9930301##Now, the last link to Wenger is broken.At least when it comes to players, as Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal captain under the French tactician between 2014 and 2016, is still in the dugout.