Arsenal: Complete player rankings for the 2018/19 season

8. Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the Arsenal season. After getting hurt half an hour into the season playing leftback, I thought, “well, that’s that.” How do you work a guy back into the team when he’s playing so out of position and he still has his eyes on central midfield?

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Well, you play him at right wingback, apparently. Because that is what unlocked the very best we have ever seen out of Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

It was clear what his strengths were at the start – he was an attacker. Which was nice, because pairing him with Kolasinac on the other side of the pitch was a dynamic combination the bred some fantastic results. Maitland-Niles calm under pressure and his ability to attack without forcing the issue, made him invaluable to a sputtering attack.

And then something even better happened – he learned to defend. After being forced to play rightback on several occasions, Maitland-Niles showed that he had the chops to be a force on defense as well as in the attack.

Not to mention that he staked a claim to the position, challenging Bellerin to come take it from him. Suffice to say he may not be thinking too much about central midfield anymore.

Andy (8), Josh (9)

Fun times at No. 7.