Arsenal: 5 key players to take three points in home opener vs Burnley

4. Ainsley Maitland-Niles

I don’t want to say something like “I didn’t know how much of a singular impact Ainsley Maitland-Niles could have on a game until Newcastle.” Because that infers a degree of unappreciation for all that he’d done up until that match.

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But something about seeing the way he stepped up against Newcastle, not just with his interception-turned-assist, but in the pristine way he defended the right flank, and in the undying effort he exuded throughout the course of the entire match, made me see him in a different light. I have always appreciated his abilities, but never seen him as a big time difference maker.

That changed. Maitland-Niles is a difference maker in the same way that Sead Kolasinac became one when he was our chief creator last year. The difference is, Maitland-Niles is showing significant upward trajectory while Kolasinac is still struggling to find consistency.

Despite being isolated largely to one side of the pitch, Maitland-Niles can and will have the chance to influence the outcome of this match, and depending on who he has in front of him, his involvement could be multiplied.

Who is Hector Bellerin again?

Anyway, on to No. 3.