Arsenal: Is Ainsley Maitland-Niles actually a midfielder?

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has reiterated his stance that he is a midfielder, not a defender. But when will the Arsenal right-back actually prove that is so?

Being a utility man can be a frustrating existence. Just ask the likes Phil Neville or Owen Hargreaves or even James Milner. While they all enjoyed successful careers, they were never really able to forge a starting for themselves in their respective teams. And now Ainsley Maitland-Niles is entering that same future of positional uncertainty and frustrating benchings.

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The 22-year-old has is extremely versatile. It is a testament to his intelligence and athleticism that he is able to play in several positions to a decent level, but is yet to master any, and if Arsenal head coach Unai Emery had every player available, Maitland-Niles would not be near the starting XI.

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This season, Maitland-Niles is one of only three outfield players to feature in every Premier League minute. But all of those minutes have come at right-back, in place of Hector Bellerin, who is on the verge of returning from an ACL tear. Maitland-Niles, by his own admission, is not a right-back. He is not a defender at all, in fact, as he explained to Sky Sports this week:

"“I’m a midfielder by trade, either central or on the wing, it’s all the same to me. I’m not a defender so I do get a lot of stick about my defending being poor, but it’s something I’m learning and have been learning for a couple of years now. It’s not going to come overnight. If I was a defender as a kid, and my defending was poor, I would understand where the criticism is coming from, but I’m trying my best for the team and for the manager. It’s not where I would choose to put myself in the team, as I’m an attacking player by trade. That’s all I can try to bring to the team. I’m still learning the defensive side, so when players are running at me, and they’re throwing skills at me, I’m still learning how to deal with that.”"

The majority of Maitland-Niles’ youth may have come as a central midfielder or right-winger, but since transitioning into the senior squad, most of his opportunities have come as either a full-back and wing-back. And while there are questions to be asked of his defensive acumen, which Maitland-Niles admirably addressed and conceded, it is fair to ask whether he is actually a midfielder as he protests.

He may have the technical and athletic skill set to play in central midfield — I would argue he boasts the ideal skill set to be a defensive midfielder in the modern game — but he has yet to force his way into the midfield rotation like his younger counterparts, Joe Willock and Matteo Guendouzi. Admittedly, neither of those possess the versatility of Maitland-Niles, and that versatility may end up hamstringing his development, but both prove that there are central midfield opportunities to be earned, if you can prove you are good enough.

Maitland-Niles has not been able to establish himself in the midfield, either out wide or in central positions. And that leads me to ask a rather obvious question: Is he actually a midfielder? Perhaps like Tottenham’s Danny Rose, who developed as a left-winger but eventually settled in at left-back, Maitland-Niles is better off committing to a position that he can make his own, and at present, that is not midfield.

The Arsenal prospect may have grown up a midfielder. He may claim to be a more natural midfielder. But that does not make him a midfielder. Perhaps, it is time for him to turn to a different position.