Arsenal: Maitland-Niles takes rare midfield chance

When the Arsenal team sheet dropped before the Carabao Cup fixture against Leeds, looking to the midfield and seeing Mohamed Elneny paired with Ainsley Maitland-Niles, you could have been forgiven for feeling a slight sense of trepidation.

We have seen this movie before with Maitland-Niles. Stating his desire to play central midfield instead of at full-back, the 24-year-old has been granted his wish a couple of times and looked slow, inconsistent in possession, and had been found wanting positionally.

This reopened the debate for to revert to right-back, and see this season out at least as backup to Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Against Leeds United, Mikel Arteta gave the Englishman another crack in the heart of midfield, and Maitland-Niles produced one of his better performances as Arsenal secured passage through to the Carabao Cup quarterfinals after a 2-0 win. While the position hasn’t looked suited to him, this season he’s taken his chances in that slot, even if they’ve only amounted to small cameos here and there.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles took his chance in midfield for Arsenal against Leeds as Arteta’s side beat Leeds 2-0 to reach Carabao Cup quarter-finals

He had a superb game. Constantly pressing, managing the transitions well and always nipping into a tackle and winning the ball, his passing was crisp, clean and most importantly, it was positive and progressive thinking.

As per the numbers it’s demonstrated how integral Maitland-Niles was in the game, racking up the second most passes for team with 37 – behind only Cedric with 40 – and had a passing completion percentage of 78.4%. While those numbers do not suggest a great game, as is said: ‘trust your eyes’. Maitland-Niles put in a solid shift in the heart of midfield was arguably man of the match.

Whether this is a flash in the pan or now the norm for the Hale Ender, it certainly does give Arteta something to think about when January rolls around. The Spaniard will be without Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny as they leave for AFCON and there will be a gap to fill.

The first choice will be Granit Xhaka to step in, which makes some Arsenal fans cringe, but Maitland-Niles has to be another option for Arteta in the midfield along with Sambi Lokonga. If Arteta decides that another body is needed, then he will search for a player to bring in (if he hasn’t already), but with Ainsley, he could finally get his chance at a prolonged stint in the midfield, something he has been crying out for.

While some might point to the opposition on the night as Leeds are 17th in the Premier league table with just one win from nine games, those 94 minutes did show just what Maitland-Niles is capable of. Add in his partner in Elneny, who is not exactly the best fit, and he still made it work. The scope is there for Ainsley to slot in next to Xhaka or Sambi to offer some athleticism as the more advanced of the double pivot.

Against Leeds, it was one of the few times where watching Maitland-Niles made you feel as if he was at home in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield. Now, he most likely will never become a starter under Arteta, but he can be a dependable back-up when called upon. His own desire to be a bit-part player, however, isn’t quite as assured.

While it’s just one performance, it’s another step towards him realising his midfield dream, even if there were some claims that he ‘got that out of his system’.

There are still many who don’t see Maitland-Niles as the central midfield type. Yet, credit where it is due, he oozed his usual calmness off the ball and composure on it, positioned himself well and covered the back four when needed.

Overall he put his best foot forward and while he will not get the plaudits of others, Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s performance is worth noting as one that could perhaps start shifting the narrative around him trying to square peg himself into a round hole.