Arsenal: 3 improvements Ainsley Maitland-Niles must make if he stays

1. Keeping his head up

One big issue I’ve been seeing with Maitland-Niles, and it doesn’t tandem well with defensive work that is a work-in-progress, is that when he is beaten, or when he makes a poor pass or a generally bad decision, Maitland-Niles has a habit of hanging his head and not leaping right to the recovery path.

It doesn’t happen all the time, but it happens enough that it needs to be ironed out. When Mesut Ozil hangs his head, we all shrug and accept that it’s just Mesut Ozil. But we still get irked by it. He’s past the point of change, though. Maitland-Niles isn’t. There’s no room for hanging your head on a personal mistake, especially not when you’re back there playing defense.

Of course, this might also have something to do with him not wanting to play the position. But when he’s in a match, he’s probably not actively thinking about the position he’s playing. At least I hope he’s not.

And if he is, then yeah, that needs improvement. But whatever he’s thinking about, keep that head up, young man. You’re incredibly talented and you’ve got one hell of a future.