How Wembley outings helped ice cold Maitland-Niles turn Arsenal career around
If Ainsley Maitland-Niles felt the pressure, he certainly didn't show it. "Cooler than a polar bear's toenails", Arsenal's Twitter account posted with the video of his penalty in the Gunners' shootout win over Liverpool over the weekend. As he calmly sent Alisson the wrong way, Arsenal raised the curtain on the Premier League season with victory in the Community Shield over the champions, lifting the trophy for a 16th time in their history.
While many view the occasion as a glorified friendly, Arsenal welcomed the trophy into their cabinet with birthday boy Maitland-Niles playing a key role in the victory. And it was a birthday to savour for the 23-year-old, who, as he sat in the dressing room post-win, received a text from Gareth Southgate to confirm his England call-up.
After his superb showing in the Community Shield, Maitland-Niles now looks certain to stay at Arsenal, despite reports linking him with a move away from the club in recent weeks. Indeed, between the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United back in January and the FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City, he started just one competitive match, that the FA Cup win over the Blades.
While the Coronavirus pandemic delayed all action across Europe, a lack of game time saw Maitland-Niles heavily linked with a move away from the north London side. Wolves were monitoring the Arsenal man as a possible replacement for Matt Doherty, who joined Tottenham last weekend, but Mikel Arteta has seemingly since had a change of heart over Maitland-Niles.
Part of that will be down to rumours suggesting Hector Bellerin is on the cusp of a summer exit, with the right-back subject to interest from PSG, Bayern Munich and Juventus. Reports this week suggest the French side have lodged a £25m bid for the Spaniard, yet even so; Maitland-Niles has done extremely well to turn his fortunes around for the Gunners.
"Ainsley needs to put his head down and work hard and show me every day in training that he wants it more than anyone else, he wants to play for this club and fight for his place," Arteta said of Maitland-Niles back in March. The delay of football couldn't have come at a worse time for the player then, who was denied the chance to prove his worth to the Arsenal boss on the training pitch.
Yet in the weeks since football resumed, Maitland-Niles began to slowly turn his Arsenal career back into his favour and was rewarded with starts in the FA Cup semi-final and final. He has started four of their last five matches, the exception coming in the 1-0 loss at Aston Villa, a defeat that came three days after the 2-0 FA Cup win over Manchester City and saw Arteta tinker with his personnel.
What has been impressive in Maitland-Niles' turnaround in fortunes, though, has been that he has done so out of position. Naturally a midfielder, he has played right-back and right wing-back this season, but in the FA Cup games and Community Shield, Maitland-Niles played left wing-back and was unaffected by the demands that came with playing out of position. In high pressure matches and moments, the youngster has looked utterly unfazed.
Having continued his development into a tactically versatile all-rounder, it has been this growth into a James Milner-esque squad player that has perhaps played a role in Arsenal's decision to keep Maitland-Niles and listen to offers for Bellerin. Granted, Arteta may prefer to retain the latter's services, and it could yet come to pass that Bellerin remains at the Emirates, but on the back of Gabriel's arrival from Lille, Arsenal need to raise funds if they are to strengthen further this summer.
In this instance, Bellerin is perhaps considered the more saleable asset, which is no critique of Maitland-Niles, as the composure he shows despite playing a number of positions is one of the main factors behind Arsenal's decision to opt against selling the academy product. This mental toughness is arguably a stronger trait than his technical ability; an invaulable quality to his game, and a key asset for Arsenal moving forward.
That is not to say that Maitland-Niles has struggled with the playing side to his game and adopting to a new position. Averages of 2.7 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per 90, coupled with his high work rate, attest to his developed defensive quality and are key assets for a player operating as a wing-back. These skills, and more, were on show in Arsenal's Community Shield win over Liverpool and while the game itself was one that meant relatively little in the grand scheme of things, it's one that has arguably proven decisive for Maitland-Niles' Arsenal career.
