Arsenal: Ainsley Maitland-Niles has completely changed the game

Ainsley Maitland-Niles was having trouble getting into the Arsenal first team picture, so he went ahead and changed the game entirely for his own benefit.

Arsenal fans have always been excited for Ainsley Maitland-Niles, whether it be as a winger, where he started, as a central midfield, where he always wanted to be, or as a utility player, dabbling wherever he was needed.

But memories of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain haunted us. He followed a very similar path to Maitland-Niles, from winger to utility man, always wanting to be in the center of the pitch as a midfielder and never getting that chance. So he left, to play his trade at Liverpool and, well, you can see how that is going.

Fears that Maitland-Niles was going to take the hint and see himself to the door were prevalent, even if not widely discussed. We’d just seen it too many times before to discount the painful possibility.

Maitland-Niles was confined to plying his trade as a right wingback, with dreams of central midfield fading away behind him, but rather than malign his situation or demand an exit, Maitland-Niles has instead found fruit at the position. In a big way.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

He’s completely changed the way that Unai Emery goes about team selection. Completely changed. It’s one thing to have Sead Kolasinac as a viable wingback and know that, in a pinch, you can revert to the back three to spring Kolasinac into his favored position and reap the rewards there, but it’s a completely different thing to have two of your more pronounced attacking players each play wingback, and thus the back three must always be taken into consideration going into any given match.

That plays to Maitland-Niles benefit, and it’s all thanks to him. He played the role so well, he embraced the role, that he has now made it such a big part of the club that there’s no “keeping it in the back pocket” anymore. It’s now in the front pocket and should be considered as the go-to formation as often as possible.

Especially when we have some defensive reinforcements arriving this summer.

It’s a credit to Maitland-Niles that he put the team first and, in return, he’s now being rewarded with more playing time than he ever would have gotten had he taken one of the numerous alternative routes available to him.

Now, let’s see what happens against Everton, because Emery is not into utilizing that back three on the road but… he just may have to.