Arsenal: 3 semi-meaningless takeaways from Charlton friendly

1. Maitland-Niles returns to midfield

Most notably, Arteta started with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Matteo Guendouzi in central midfield. Bar Reiss Nelson starting ahead of Nicolas Pepe at right-wing, the rest of the XI looked very much look the strongest XI. Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos, the presumed starters, partnered one another in the second half, which suggests they are still the number one pair, but Maitland-Niles’ inclusion is telling.

Maitland-Niles has largely featured at right-back under Arteta. With Hector Bellerin out injured, he started the first five Premier League matches. He was excellent throughout, flourishing in the inverted role that Arteta employed. As soon as Bellerin returned, however, Maitland-Niles dropped to the bench and eventually out of the squad entirely.

The 22-year-old has repeatedly claimed that he is a central midfielder and not a right-back. However, he has endured limited playing time in midfield throughout his career and his best performances have come at right-back. Many therefore assumed that he would not get a chance to earn a midfield role. Perhaps that has now changed.

Of course, this is just one meaningless friendly match. It would be silly to take anything that happens too seriously. Nevertheless, Maitland-Niles’ start in midfield is telling and could lead to further opportunities in the future.