Arsenal: Concessions must be made for Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Arsenal have a talented young man in Ainsley Maitland-Niles, but he’s at a crossroads. They have to pull out the stops for him now.

It’s been a theme with a lot of articles recently, but I’ll say it again, Arsenal are getting younger. And, as they get younger, they are getting better, both for the now and for the future. Ainsley Maitland-Niles has a big part to play in all of this, but at this point, it must be made a priority to appease him.

And by appease, I mean pulling out the stops to make sure that he is happy, because he’s not someone that you can just string along for the giggles and see how long you can keep hold of him. He’s a priority.

Which is tough because, in the current set up, he doesn’t have a lot going for him. In fact he has almost nothing going his way for his grand return to the first team in the coming weeks. While he was once favored to make a run for a starting midfield role or, at the least, challenge for a starting fullback spot, the team has solidified without him.

Even Matteo Guendouzi, youngster extraordinaire, was pushed out of the starting XI because there just wasn’t room for him. And with the rise of Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe, Maitland-Niles may find his way forward blocked, with only the way backward to look towards.

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Fullback is just as cluttered as the midfield meaning that, unless Unai Emery makes special concessions to get Maitland-Niles reliable playing time, then he probably just won’t.

Which is exactly why Emery does need to make specific concessions to ensure that Maitland-Niles is getting ample playing time. Because the skill that this kid has in the here and now and moving forward is worth inconveniencing other players for.

As much as it may be unfair to players like Mohamed Elneny, or even Aaron Ramsey, I want to see Maitland-Niles start to take priority over players that aren’t going to be in this for the long haul. Because guess what? If we play our cards right, he will be, and the kid is a fantastic athlete.

I would love to see him, Xhaka and Torreira in a midfield three, but that would require another formation change. I guess it’s a good problem to have, having too many talented players, especially young ones, to choose from.