Arsenal: Ainsley Maitland-Niles may find the curtain drop after second act

Arsenal will be looking to flex their depth in the second leg against Ostersunds FK, which will mean more Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Show up, young man!

Arsenal’s upcoming – and potentially irrelevant second leg – against Ostersunds FK at the Emirates figures to see the Gunners with massive squad changes, as they face Manchester City at the weekend in the Carabao Cup final and then again the following Thursday in the Premier League.

So against Ostersunds FK, with a three away goal cushion, you can expect the youngsters. Which should mean absolutely no veteran players out there whatsoever. Which should also mean that Ainsley Maitland-Niles will get his second start in the center of the pitch.

In the first match, despite some solid stats regarding winning the ball back, Maitland-Niles wasn’t the best player out there. He displayed superb athleticism, but he was loose with the ball and didn’t have much of a presence in the middle of the pitch.

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But what exactly is presence? Well, it’s hard to define. I see presence as this sort of control tower that is composed with the ball, does not lose it – like, ever.  Someone who makes intelligent passes, dictates play and can win the ball back when called upon to do so.

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That is presence. Who do Arsenal have that has this? Well, hate me if you want, but the guy with the most presence is Granit Xhaka simply because of how solid he is over the ball. He doesn’t lose it. He will play the occasional wayward pass, but he can’t be bullied off the ball and he’s always calculating.

Maitland-Niles didn’t do that. He was loose with the ball, got caught out of position and took a lot of chances, the later of which I won’t fault him for because he was in a box-to-box role.

The thing is, though, that this is probably the last chance he will have for the rest of the season, barring a major performance. He was not very effective, he seemed to be trying to do too much and when you think about the fixtures still to come as the season winds down, there aren’t going to be any “piss away” matches for Maitland-Niles to stretch his legs in the midfield.

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Ostersunds FK

Long-term, it’s not a big deal. But if we’re expecting to see this role catch on here and now, then we need to see something really special against Ostersunds FK or the curtain may drop after just two acts until next season.