Mikel Arteta has cleared up his thoughts on Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ future.
Reports have strongly linked him with a move to Wolves in search of more regular team football. The Wanderers even had their £15m offer for they youngster rejected by Arsenal.
Arteta brought up Maitland-Niles’ talents and how much he admired the Englishman right from the time he took over. Unfortunately, the Hale-End product fell out of Arteta’s books in training and had to work his way into team selection. Ultimately, he started in crucial ties towards the end of the last campaign and helped win the FA Cup.
When Arteta was quizzed on the 22-year-old, he told Football London, “Yes, we are reading a lot of news about our players which is not bad that other clubs want him but with Ainsley, he’s a player that I’ve said since I joined that I really like. The best way to show that is that I have played him in the most important games of the season and he responded really well, so that’s where we are with the player.”
He continued, “I am always open to listening to what the player is feeling at every stage of their career and then I can give them my opinion of how I see them, what I expect from them and if we have the right understanding, then we have to move forward together. If there is something that doesn’t work then we have to assess it with the player and the club and then find the right decision for both of them.”
Does this mean, Maitland-Niles is here to stay? It is still very uncertain. Arteta clearly does not want to get rid of him even if it is to raise funds. There are a string of other players who can be offloaded before the England youth international, who is known to be highly versatile.
READ MORE: Top 5 Arsenal Transfer Targets List Summer 2020
