Noel Whelan tips Ainsley Maitland-Niles to stay in England amidst interest from Roma

Mikel Arteta will need Maitland-Niles as they will lose Elneny and Partey to AFCON.

Former Leeds man expects Newcastle United to try to hijack AS Roma’s move for Ainsley Maitland-Niles next month. Niles has been pushing to leave Emirates in 2022 and publicly asked to be let go in the summer when Everton wanted to sign him.

Mikel Arteta kept the Englishman on with the promise of giving him more first-team chances. The Arsenal midfielder is likely to push to leave the club again next month.

According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal is in talks with Serie A club over a six-month loan deal for the former West Brom loanee.

Whelan expects Newcastle to attempt to hijack the move. He spoke to Football Insider: “I’m surprised it’s just Roma interested in him. I expect Newcastle to be in for him too, and they could hijack talks.”

Maitland-Niles is one of the vital players for Arsenal and he would be useful next month. Mikel Arteta will need him as they will lose Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey to the Africa Cup of Nations 2021.

Now is probably the best time to offload him and a loan with an obligation to buy is not a bad idea.

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