Ainsley Maitland-Niles has opened up on his frustration at losing his place in the Arsenal team.
The Arsenal academy graduate emerged as a pacey, versatile and extremely cool customer, featuring under Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta. He really began to get into his stride in the summer of 2020, winning the FA Cup, scoring a penalty in the Community Shield win over Liverpool and earning his first England cap.
But no sooner had Maitland-Niles began to enjoy his ascent than he found himself struggling for games under Arteta, with the Gunners struggling early in the 2020/21 season. Desperate to play regular first-team football, the Englishman endured three woeful loan spells at West Brom, Southampton and Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
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Now finding his feet again with Lyon in Ligue 1, the 26-year-old has identified exactly when his career suddenly went off track. He recalled finding himself out of the Arsenal team following his return from an England camp in November 2020 – and he has not received an international call-up from Gareth Southgate since.
Maitland-Niles told The Athletic: “After my last cap for England (against Iceland in November 2020), I came back to Arsenal and didn’t make the starting XI, then it just went downhill. It’s hard to get picked for England when you don’t have consistent football, unless you’re one of the regulars like Harry Maguire.
“It’s frustrating. Everyone wants to play football and everyone wants to play for their country. It was the lack of football that was stopping me. I went on a few loans after that to try to pick up momentum but it didn’t go to plan. It was always my interest to be playing football and not sit on the bench waiting for my turn.”
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(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
(Image: PA)
Despite the disappointment of not kicking on at Arsenal where his friends Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe still feature, the full-back remains a Gunner from a distance and hopes they will claim their first league title in 20 years in two weeks’ time.
Yet Maitland-Niles is also on the cusp of winning his first piece of silverware in France, having joined Lyon on a free transfer last summer. His tough start, playing under three separate managers this season, could all be worth it when he faces Kylian Mbappe’s Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de France final on May 25.
(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Getty Images)
Ahead of his monumental task in marking the France and PSG phenom, Maitland-Niles said: “He’s the best player I’ve faced in my career, He’s everything and more that everyone says about him.
“He’s got pace, power, strength and a great shot. He’s a very intelligent player, so it will be difficult. But it’s time to get some payback and cap off the year with a trophy.”