Arsenal: Ainsley Maitland-Niles needs the Unai Emery way

Arsenal have a gem in Ainsley Maitland-Niles, but that gem will lose it’s sparkle if he gets confined to an ultra-utility role. No one stars in that.

Arsenal are moving in a pretty clear direction with Unai Emery. They are getting younger, more dynamic, more attack-oriented and, well, better. And the youth products we now have aren’t going to be hindered like they once were.

Look at Reiss Nelson at Hoffenheim, at Emile Smith Rowe, scoring goals and proclaiming himself the next Kevin De Bruyne. And Ainsley Maitland-Niles the… squad player?

I hate having to point this out so often, but we’ve been here before. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain went from winger to wingback while always wishing he was a central midfielder. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is doing the exact same thing.

No utility payer has ever been the “star of the show.” The best players out there play one, maybe two positions. Certainly not six. And Maitland-Niles keeps getting moved all over the place, unable to latch onto any one role, making it full circle back to right wing against Blackpool.

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Through it all, the one position that he has played the least is the one he wants to play the most – central midfield. His little exposure there has been positive, but unfulfilled, because there was so damn little of it.

The good news is that if anyone is capable of fixing the breeding uncertainty of the young man, it’s Unai Emery, who had a dossier on Maitland-Niles in the interview for the job. Meaning that he probably knows exactly what he’s doing.

A lot of people feel like Emile Smith Rowe is the reason why the contract was pulled off the table for Aaron Ramsey, but why does it have to be a one-for-one switch? Maitland-Niles is a huge priority for Emery, and if any one player is going to claim responsibility for the club’s insistence on Ramsey not staying around, I have to think that it’s Maitland-Niles, who has a heck of a lot more experience and versatility.

Still, that is speculation. As it stands, Maitland-Niles is not being given the chance he undoubtedly wants and needs. On the bright side though, that opportunity may come soon, with him being back to full health.

It’s been said countless times, but that’s cause it’s so important – don’t do another Oxlade-Chamberlain. Maitland-Niles is too special to fall by the wayside, strung out on unfulfilled promise. Emery’s got this under control, though. We’ll see that soon.