Arsenal's Reiss Nelson happy after rocky Hoffenheim start

Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson believes things are looking up after a tough adaptation period to life in the Bundesliga on loan to Hoffenheim.

The 18-year-old has scored twice in three appearances, despite only making the starting line-up once.

And he followed that up by scoring in his first start for England Under-21s in their 2-0 win over Scotland.

"It was a rocky start, but now I'm getting a few minutes here and there and scoring, so I'm happy," he said.

Nelson opened the scoring with a 30-yard free-kick at Tynecastle.

"When we were given the free-kick, my eyes lit up and I knew it was time," said the winger, who signed a long-term deal with Arsenal before joining Hoffenheim in August.

• England consign Scotland U21s to defeat

"Luckily, it went in the top corner, so I'm all smiles now."

Tuesday's win in Edinburgh meant that England, who had already qualified for next year's European Championship finals in Italy and San Marino, finished eight points above Netherlands and extended their unbeaten run to 35 qualifiers.

Defeat meant Scot Gemmill's Scots finished fourth behind Ukraine, while the Dutch also failed to qualify as they were not one of the top four runners-up out of the nine groups.

Nelson enjoyed a scoring debut for the under-21s as a substitute in Thursday night's win over Andorra and manager Aidy Boothroyd has been impressed with what he is seen.

"There were some really good moments of skill and end product, which is important," Boothroyd said.

"The great thing about Reiss is he plays with a smile on his face and he enjoys his football, so it makes him easy to work with."

Reiss Nelson scored with a free-kick against Scotland