Arsenal: Ainsley Maitland-Niles not the grim reaper for anyone

Arsenal’s midfield has become a point of power and pride, but with Ainsley Maitland-Niles returning, someone is getting dumped.

Arsenal’s midfield has been a soft spot for something like a decade. Arsene Wenger never saw it as much of a problem, as long as he had players who could string together passes. That was all he ever seemed to want out of them.

Things have changed under Unai Emery, though not all that much. Competent passers are still the focal point of this midfield, but having the simple upgrade of a player like Lucas Torreira has changed it all. Suddenly that passing is defensible and not wholly exposed.

The Torreira/Xhaka partnership has worked wonders in the Premier League, and the Guendouzi/Elneny partnership has done similar in the secondary competitions. But now that Ainsley Maitland-Niles is coming back, someone is going to get knocked away.

Emery has shown a serious affinity for favoring youth over experience, so long as they prove capable. And he was someone that Unai Emery specifically highlighted when he was first taking over this club.

According to reports, Maitland-Niles has recovered from his small fracture and is nearing the point where he needs to be worked back into the plan. The plan that doesn’t involve an overstocked fullback corps.

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The thing is, the midfield is already so tightly compacted that to bring in Maitland-Niles would be to spell the certain demise of one of the aforementioned players. And frankly, it can only be one – Mohamed Elneny.

Elneny has been quiet but reliable, and will always be a useful squad player, but Maitland-Niles’ blindingly bright future is impossible to ignore. He needs to be out there in his preferred position and Emery is just the guy to make that a reality.

But again, that has a ripple affect. Elneny looks like the guy closest to the blast radius of Maitland-Niles’ pending explosion.

That said, there is another option. While there may only truly be two positions in the base of that midfield, Emery has shown the willingness to go to a 4-4-2. If that is the case, Maitland-Niles can easily play a wide midfield role, as it combines his two prominent positions – central midfield and fullback – and accentuates his strengths.

Call it a temporary measure, even, to see who stands out and who is worth investing in for the long-haul. Spoiler alert: Maitland-Niles is going to be one of those people.