Maitland-Niles an Arsenal Academy graduate, known to have been an interesting central midfielder with a lot of prospect during his time with the reserve team. After impressing on loan at Ipswich town during 2015/2016 season, he came back to his parent club Arsenal with the hope of getting into the first team.
Due to his versatility, he could play as a winger, central midfielder, at full backs and also as a wing back. Opportunities came knocking soon enough, though not in his preferred position, but he was still able to grab the opportunity to feature in the first team.
Looking at his performance during this season, it seems all hope was lost, and no fans could have wished to see him anywhere near the starting eleven. But with the appointment of Mikel Arteta, Maitland-Niles stepped up his game and became a consistent performer at right back position.
He was able to swiftly shift position between the right back while defending the opposition attack and slotting upahead when Arsenal have upper-hand.
Maitland-Niles lacked consistency at the back and suddenly as soon as Hector Bellerin recovered fully from the ACL injury he had, he silently took back his position which almost seemed lost to Niles impressive performances.
Fans were eager to see how Bellerin would come back into the team and take back his mantle from Niles; but was there a fight for the position? That doesn’t seem to be.
Suddenly, Niles faded away from the first team and his opportunity declined. During the January transfer window, Arsenal signed Cedric Soares on loan from Southampton.
Who would have expected that? Ainsley seems like a reliable cover for the right back position but maybe Mikel Arteta thought otherwise.
Hardly does Niles appear in the match day squad nor get any game time. On few occasions, he was seen lingering on the bench while Sokratis was deployed to the right back role. How does that sound? Funny right? Should that be a cause of concern towards his Arsenal’s career?
The midfield position doesn’t seem to be lacking at the moment, which is a position where Arsenal have been blessed with players like Ceballos, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Torreira and Willock.
Any hope of him getting a game time in his preferred natural position doesn’t quite seem feasible at the moment (except injury sets in ofcourse).
Where do you see Niles playing in the nearest future? Does Niles still have what it takes to be an integral part of the team?
Based on his versatility, Niles should be considered the most gifted player in the squad (though again, Calum Chambers gives him quite a fight on versatility as well). But how far can that take him?
