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‘Today, I felt’: Arteta delivers honest verdict on Maitland-Niles’ performance in midfield
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had his say on Ainsley Maitland-Niles‘ performance against Leeds United last night in central midfield.
The Englishman has been very open about the fact that he wants to play in the middle of the park. He feels that his best position is in central midfield, but Arteta has often been against that opinion.
That forced Maitland-Niles to look for opportunities elsewhere and he went to West Bromwich Albion on loan at the start of this year. He played in his preferred position and impressed at times as well, but not enough to nail down a spot in Arsenal’s midfield.
However, Granit Xhaka’s injury and Arsenal not signing another midfielder has opened up a spot for him in his favourite position. He grabbed that opportunity last night and Arteta was impressed as well.
Mikel Arteta: Maitland-Niles was really good in midfield
The Gunners manager said, as per : “Well, we have used him (Maitland-Niles) a lot and in different moments he has played minutes.
“He can cover different positions. That’s the bonus that Ainsley has and again, he kept trying and trying to improve every single day.
“Today, I felt he had a really good performance.”
Does AMN have a future at Arsenal?
Thomas Partey and Xhaka are Arteta’s first-choice starters in midfield when they’re both fit. Albert Sambi Lokonga is next in line, which leaves Maitland-Niles further down in the pecking order alongside Mohamed Elneny.
Arteta has used a 4-3-3 in recent games as well, with Partey acting as a lone-six, and Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard playing either side of him.
That makes life even more difficult for Maitland-Niles, who has been desperate to play. It will be interesting to see what the versatile Englishman will do in January if he continues to spend more time on the bench than on the pitch.
Everton expressed serious interest in Maitland-Niles in the summer and they could well return. Arsenal forced him to stay a few months ago, but if he fails to nail down a regular starting spot, it is likely that he will push for a move away in the winter window.
