Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Klaus

Let's talk about this guy:

He's fast becoming my favourite of the talents that have emerged from the academy in the last few years. There's something about the inherent maturity in his game that makes you think he belongs on this level.

I remember Mick McCarthy saying that he was convinced AMN would become a regular player for Arsenal. Wenger mentioned yesterday that leftback is the position he is least suited for, but he has stepped in and looked like a seasoned squad member in the last two games. And those weren't easy games even though we faced bottom of the table opponents. We were coming off a bad run and needed the points.

Wenger seems to trust him in a way that he rarely does with young players too. By all accounts he kept Kolasinac out of the team yesterday. Maybe Kola wasn't completely fit, but in a game where three points were a must and both Kolasinac and Monreal were in the squad we would normally have found other solutions than giving a 20 year old midfielder his second ever Premier League start as a fullback.

As near as I can tell the only drawback with this lad is his volatile mother.

BWoolley

Would love to see him get Coquelin / Elneny's minutes in MF. Pity Wenger didn't think it worth to have another left back in the squad.

lorddulaarsenal

He impressed me hugely in centre mid against Southampton earlier in the season

goon

I think this kid has a really bright head on his shoulders, seems to think about making the right pass rather than simply keeping it safe which is easy for a young kid in his position. He's really composed too, though the other side of that is that it's sometimes a little too casual. Had a bit of a nightmare in pre-season with his passing.

Any game time he gets this season is a good thing regardless of where it is, but we should really clear out Elneny and Coquelin next year to give him mins in his actual position.

Gazza M

give him a chance in the middle. he can actually tackle, and has some explosion in his game, which our midfield has been bereft of for the longest time

Bold Tone

Klaus wrote:
...

As near as I can tell the only drawback with this lad is his volatile mother.

Being machiavellian, it could be argued that her hard-headedness is the reason he is where he is.

Ricky1985

I want him to get his chance in centre midfield but I think it's very possible he will struggle to deal with the speed at which he'll have to think and pass and the frequency with which he is involved in the game. At least at first. Which is why the Europa League was the perfect time to ease him in, damn Coquelin and Elneny!

Asterix

Ainsley Maitland Niles, Conservative.

The lad looks very promising - I echo the call for him to get a run in the middle of the park. I wonder if he'll play again against West ham - he's played two in a row and is young - not sure if that will be a positive or negative in Wenger's mind. I can't see Wenger sudden'y putting him in the middle though after 2 games at left back. He might keep him there this season then train him over the summer for a move back into the middle.

Herbas

goon wrote:
He's really composed too, though the other side of that is that it's sometimes a little too casual. Had a bit of a nightmare in pre-season with his passing.

This is exactly what I didn't like about him before. In quite many cases before he seemed completely unbothered when an opponent got past him into a promising position in the final third. He just wouldn't put any effort in trying to recover the situation.

Haven't noticed this in recent games, so hopefully he's more alert now.

jones

Asterix wrote:
Ainsley Maitland Niles, Conservative.

😆

Burnwinter

Heh.

I think we've reached AMN's breakout moment. The talk around him and his maturity in this thread reminds me a little of Iwobi. At the moment his decision-making looks correct and his technique and his interventions seem assured.

So he's an excellent prospect, but nothing's a certainty.

The number one priority should be to get Wenger out and let him learn his ideal role under another manager, not this one who's already delayed or derailed the development of several potentially extraordinary midfielders in recent seasons.

Qwiss

Klaus wrote:
As near as I can tell the only drawback with this lad is his volatile mother.

I don't know anything about his mother but for me his biggest drawback is how hard it is to get his name into a song.

Klaus

She was banned from the Arsenal training ground after some kind of row: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-3062921/Ainsley-Maitland-Niles-mother-attacks-TWO-Arsenal-staff-members-explosive-tirade-club-s-training-ground.html

She also got him thrown out of Ipswitch after leaving "an x-rated" voice message on Mick McCarthy's phone: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3530362/Arsenal-loanee-Ainsley-Maitland-Niles-exiled-Ipswich-Town-mum-left-nasty-expletive-ridden-voicemail-Mick-McCarthy-s-phone.html

Parent-agent with really short temper by the sounds of it.

Asterix

jones wrote:
Asterix wrote:
Ainsley Maitland Niles, Conservative.

😆

Must admit I can't claim credit - it's what Alan Davies calls him on The Tuesday Club.

Segway

With Kolasinac starting yesterday does this mean that Ainsley is earmarked for a start on Friday to face Salah?

Qwiss

Looks like it

flobaba

Why would we (Wenger) make that sort of decision?

lorddulaarsenal

Cos he’s faster better on one v ones and is right footed

Klaus

Agree Dules. We haven't lost anything in the attack in the games where AMN has played either. I think Wenger has been put off a bit by Kolasinac's defending. He was dropped a few times before his injury too.

flobaba

Think it’s a massive risk to throw a kid with so little experience one v one against a monster like Salah. It’s not like we have an extraordinarily solid defense in general starting off either where he can be protected or covered if he gets beaten during counter attacks.

Bad things will happen.