Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles has completed his loan move to AS Roma.
The England international will spend the remainder of the season at the Sadio Olimpico, though the deal does not include an option to make the switch permanent.
Maitland-Niles came close to an exit in the summer amid strong interest from Everton but Mikel Arteta decided to keep the 24-year-old at the club.
However, he has struggled for playing time and the Spaniard has now sanctioned his departure, despite the fact that he is already without midfielders Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny because of this month’s AFCON.
“We are very, very short at the moment,” Arteta said yesterday. “But to be fair on a player, this cannot be the only argument to try to keep a player - and a player that has been developed and raised through our academy.
“[Maitland-Niles is] a player that has been patient in many moments and tried to fulfil his dream. He was very straight with me and I understood the situation and we think it’s good option.“Obviously we are going to move and we are going to look for options, because we are very short there.”
