Arsenal: Ainsley Maitland-Niles an asset to defense as much as attack

Arsenal have been able to rely on Ainsley Maitland-Niles more and more in recent weeks and that’s because his defense is suddenly irreplaceable.

There was a time when I, and many others, were worried that Ainsley Maitland-Niles may go the same way of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. From right wing to right wingback, always craving for a chance at that vaunted Arsenal midfield.

He had his benefits to playing as a wingback, but the downfall was always in his defending. He just wasn’t good enough tracking back and could even be construed as lazy in his defensive work, which is never a word you want to be associated with in any regard.

We are now seeing something completely different. Completely. We’ve been talking about this for the past couple weeks, about how well Maitland-Niles is defending, but against Napoli, we got to see it in a big way.

The back three used to make us a big nervous, because it always worked out so predictably. The Gunners would have to defend a counter with the wingbacks pulled out of position and thus a wide centerback would have to slide over to play fullback and we’d be left so outmanned in the middle of the pitch that the goals would keep bulging our net.

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That has been significantly cut down and a big reason why is because Maitland-Niles no longer requires a wide centerback to come out and cover for him because he’s so damn smart with the ball. He doesn’t take unnecessary risks and, if he does, and if that leaves to a loss of possession, he has no trouble tracking back to ensure that the defense doesn’t get shredded.

It’s not just in his effort though, it’s the precision with which he defends. He is a no-nonsense right wingback, and I’m not sure I knew what that was before Maitland-Niles started being it. He doesn’t get faked out of the ball, he doesn’t dive into tackles, he doesn’t do anything foolish when defending. He is smart, composed, and reliable. He is calculated and, again, precise.

It’s been an absolute saving grace for this defense, and against Napoli, he couldn’t have done much better in his defending, and he was called on quite a bit to do his part.

If this is what we have to look forward to with Maitland-Niles, then good luck to anyone that wants to try to take this spot from him.