Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal: 5 midfielders in line for summer departures

By Ross Kennerley

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 26: Mikel Arteta manager of Arsenal celebrates the win with Aaron Ramsdale and Ainsley Maitland-Niles during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on September 26, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 26: Mikel Arteta manager of Arsenal celebrates the win with Aaron Ramsdale and Ainsley Maitland-Niles during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on September 26, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
Arsenal, AMN
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 28: Ainsley Maitland-Niles of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on August 28, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) /

3. Ainsley Maitland-Niles

How different might have January looked for Arsenal had they only allowed Ainsley Maitland-Niles to leave two or three weeks later?

Suspensions, injuries and other absences heavily depleted Arteta’s squad to the point where he had only one central midfielder available, and keeping Maitland-Niles for just that little while longer could have been the difference between staying in the FA Cup and perhaps being in a cup final.

The midfielder wouldn’t have turned Arsenal’s fortunes around in the middle of the pitch, but it would have prevented the squad from being stretched. Having Thomas Partey against Burnley, for example, could have been the difference between one or three Premier League points.

His loan to Roma is only a simple one, with the idea being that a market will open for him in the summer other than just Jose Mourinho’s side. With more minutes his value will increase and hopefully, by then, he might be worth a few more quid.

One thing is fairly certain: his time at Arsenal is up.

Estimated fee: £10m

Continued on next page…

Home/Arsenal News