Arsenal: 5 Ainsley Maitland-Niles midfield replacements

The January transfer window was always set to be centred heavily on outgoings for Arsenal, with the extensive squad rebuilding still far from over.

Beating Norwich 5-0 on Sunday afternoon, just two years ago when this fixture was last played at Carrow Road, half of the 18-man squad Arsenal put out are either no longer at the club or out on loan, and only two of that team started in Norfolk.

In other words, there has been plenty of change.

The like of which is still being undertaken, with the latest departee under Mikel Arteta’s tenure set to come in the form of Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Arsenal: 5 Ainsley Maitland-Niles midfield replacements as Mikel Arteta sanctions loan move with option to buy for Roma in January transfer window

Somewhat surprisingly, the club are to sanction a six-month loan departure to Roma for a fee of £600k, and by the end will have the option to purchase him permanently for around £8.4m. The idea of Maitland-Niles leaving isn’t surprising, but the circumstances are.

Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey are jetting off to Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations on January 3, two days after the Gunners’ next match against Manchester City, leaving behind them all of two senior central midfielders in Granit Xhaka and Sambi Lokonga.

The latter has only played nine minutes in the past six matches due to rotation and Covid, while Xhaka has done everything except rest.

Arsenal would not give the green light to this deal unless they had a plan in place, which seems to point towards the transfer market. Rather heavily, in fact. However, could they look elsewhere for solutions, no matter how temporary they may be? Internally, there are five names that spring to mind who could replace Maitland-Niles in the team.

1. Miguel Azeez

Sent out on loan with Portsmouth over the summer to earn valuable first team minutes, it hasn’t been the smoothest transition into men’s football for Miguel Azeez.

Dan Cowley has blooded him into action gradually since his arrival, making only a small handful of League One appearances in the first 20 matches of the season as he got to grips with the division.

Promising signs have hinted towards greater involvement, and at last it appears as if he’s been trusted to play an important part in Pompey’s midfield. Starting the last two top-flight matches, Portsmouth have kept two clean sheets, secured four points and Azeez got himself an assist.

He still has some way to go before he can claim himself to be a mainstay in the team even if Cowley is showing more willingness with him.

However, Arsenal do also have the option to recall him from his loan in January. Operating as a No. 8 on the south coast, he could be brought back to plug a Maitland-Niles shaped hole even if just for FA Cup matches or as a substitute.

Should Arsenal go down this road? No. Azeez is still only 19 years old and not ready for Premier League football, and the best place for him is still out on loan where he can continued mastering his craft.

Continued on next page…

2. Benjamin White

Trying to find reasons to justify forking out over £50m on Benjamin White’s signature, his versatility was highlighted among the many qualities he possessed. It wasn’t just a wild attempt at justification though, it’s true.

Proving as much with an excellent display a right-back for Arsenal in the 5-0 rout over Norwich, the biggest compliment that can be paid to White was that Takehiro Tomiyasu wasn’t missed on the day.

Norwich are a woeful team, granted, but White’s experience in playing in back three systems and even as right wing-back put him in good stead to cover that position in the inverted style of his teammate.

But what about midfield? It’s here he’s played on far fewer occasions.

Him and Gabriel at centre-back is like having two midfielders anyway. The modern central defender has to be so comfortable in possession and willing to carry the ball out that their skillsets have a venn diagram meeting point. White is effectively a central/holding midfielder, and has played there before, so it wouldn’t be a great shock to see him handed a few appearances in the role.

It’s not the best solution, of course, but if options were scarce it would be one of the more suitable internal calls to make.

Continued on next page…

3. Calum Chambers

This is one that gets mentioned every time Arsenal are looking a little thin in central midfield. Calum Chambers, who can’t get a game for the team in his favoured right-back or centre-back position, continues to be touted as an option in the middle of the pitch.

It all stems from one season in west London. Scooping Fulham’s Player of the Year award in 2018/19 during a loan spell there from Arsenal, this accolade gets fired off regularly as a solution.

The Cottagers conceded 81 goals that season and finished 19th in the table, so selecting a POTY is always going to be slim pickings. Chambers did do well enough in an awful team, he’s just not going to be anything close to reliable for Arteta when he’s barely serviceable as a defender.

Part of you wants to see it, though.

Chambers did hit some solid form last season playing at right-back, including during the period where Arsenal had Xhaka at left centre-back and the 26-year-old regularly found himself dancing into midfield positions. He wasn’t all that bad.

Looking at the fixture list and seeing the level of opposition for Arsenal to face somewhat quells that morbid curiosity, however.

Continued on next page…

4. Martin Odegaard

How do Arsenal go about incorporating Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli into the same team? It’s the question burning everyone’s lips at the moment, with one potential solution seeing one of the quartet sit off.

Smith Rowe and Odegaard could operate as duel No. 8’s in front of a single pivot, yet when that pivot is either young Sambi or the immobile Xhaka, it’s a thought that is quickly put to bed.

Sticking with the 4-2-3-1, if Odegaard were to simply drop deeper and play in central midfield it would allow Smith Rowe to move back into the No. 10 and add some technical nous right in front of the back four. After all, Odegaard loves to drop deep and facilitate anyway.

Well, not quite.

Odegaard is looking nailed on to win the Premier League POTM award in December, with his performances all coming as the No. 10. With two central midfielders behind him, the freedom to drift into pockets on the right and make late surges into the box, taking him out of his favoured role would be to the team’s, and to his, detriment.

The glue to connect midfield and attack, moving him further away from goal and shackling him with defensive responsibilities would be most unwise. Tackling and recovery defending is not his strong suit. He has found his feet in this team, in that position. That triangle of the team is its beating heart. Don’t break it.

Continued on next page…

5. Charlie Patino

What a week for Charlie Patino.

Making his senior debut in the 5-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Sunderland, Patino marked a special day in his life with a stoppage time goal to top it all off. The magic of the cup.

If it couldn’t get any better than that, he was able to soak up a winning Premier League atmosphere as he was included on the bench for the win at Carrow Road. Even if Covid absences opened up a space in the squad for him, to be in and around that group on an away day is the taste of first team football he’ll be chomping at the bit for and one he’s worked hard to achieve.

However, it’s too soon for him to be involved in high stakes top-flight football.

Patino’s time will come and while there is clear faith in him from his manager, he is still only 18 years old and his development requires monitoring. If you’re good enough you’re old enough, and Patino is certainly knocking on that door, yet it’s a lot to ask of someone his age at a crucial stage of the campaign.

Just need to sew up top four with games to spare and he can get all the minutes he deserves.