Ainsley Maitland-Niles has opened up on the prospect of Hector Bellerin's return, saying it's been a great learning curve to play in a different position.
The youngster has deputised for Bellerin at right-back as the Spaniard continues his recovery from injury, however it's thought that the 24-year-old could make his return in the coming weeks.
While Maitland-Niles is determined to fight for his place in the team, he does accept any criticism that has come his way for his performances, reiterating that he is in fact a midfielder and not a defender.
Speaking about the impact of Hector Bellerin's return, he told Sky Sports: "Only time will tell and of course I want to play as many games as I can.
"I want to stay in the team, but if the manager chooses to pick him (Bellerin) over me, that's something I will have to live with. I'll just have to keep training and working hard so that I get picked instead.
"I'm a midfielder by trade, either central or on the wing, it's all the same to me. I'm not a defender so I do get a lot of stick about my defending being poor, but it's something I'm learning and have been learning for a couple of years now.
"It's not going to come overnight. If I was a defender as a kid, and my defending was poor, I would understand where the criticism is coming from, but I'm trying my best for the team and for the manager.
"It's not where I would choose to put myself in the team, as I'm an attacking player by trade. That's all I can try to bring to the team. I'm still learning the defensive side, so when players are running at me, and they're throwing skills at me, I'm still learning how to deal with that.
"It's always nice to have one main position where you play, and everyone else gets to play in their main position, so hopefully it's just a matter of time before I can do that too."
