Arsenal: The ambitious Ainsley Maitland-Niles plan

Ainsley Maitland-Niles needs to nail down a starting role in the Arsenal team. It might seem ambitious, but he could take over from Granit Xhaka in central midfield?

It has not been the best start to the season for Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Filling in for Hector Bellerin at right-back as the Spaniard recovered from an ACL tear, the now 22-year-old has struggled to establish himself in the Arsenal first-team, so much so that he has now seen Calum Chambers usurp him as Bellerin’s deputy.

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For Maitland-Niles, that might not come as a surprise. While he has the skill set and athletic profile to excel at right-back, very much more so than Chambers, for whatever reason, he has struggled to put it all together despite nearly two years learning and playing the position. You see, in his eyes, he is a midfielder, not a defender.

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Speaking with Sky Sports earlier this season, Maitland-Niles said:

"“I’m a midfielder by trade, either central or on the wing, it’s all the same to me.”"

He stated in the same interview that he is developing his defensive skills and is happy to be used wherever Unai Emery sees fit, but there is a clear natural urge towards a more offensive position. The problem I have had with Maitland-Niles’ more attacking desires, however, is that I do not think he is capable enough to play on the wing for a top-six side. His touch is too inconsistent, his dribbling is a little wild and uncontrolled, although effective at times, and his end product is poor also.

This is part of the reason why many felt that right-back was a more natural home for Maitland-Niles, despite his obvious hesitations.

So maybe there is a middle ground between these positions. Maybe there is another role that Maitland-Niles can master. After all, as he stated himself, he does need to master one:

"“It’s always nice to have one main position where you play, and everyone else gets to play in their main position, so hopefully it’s just a matter of time before I can do that too.”"

With the increased speed and intensity of the modern game, there is a growing demand for central midfielders to be mobile and full of energy. Teams want to press high up the pitch and play in a high-octane manner. That requires midfielders who have the athleticism and stamina to cover lots of ground and to do so quickly.

As we have seen with painful regularity, Granit Xhaka does not have this physical make-up to fulfil this role. Meanwhile, Lucas Torreira, who is certainly accustomed to the athletic challenges of a modern-day central midfield role, lacks the progressive passing and distribution that Emery would like from his deepest-lying midfielder. Could Maitland-Niles combine the two and emerge as a superior option to both?

It is an ambitious idea. I am not sure that he has the tactical nous to play a defensive midfield position. But with his physical and technical qualities the way that they are, it might be worth finding out.