Ainsley Maitland-Niles was awarded with the man of the match against Watford before the November international break but hasn’t been given a look in since.
The Englishman has failed to start a game since being dropped ahead of Arsenal’ s away defeat at the hands of Liverpool, despite the midfield consistently putting in below-par performances.
With the return of Granit Xhaka from injury, it now seems even more unlikely that he will get another chance to break into Arteta’s squad.
Maitland-Niles looked a certainty to leave the club in the summer transfer window, but a deal was blocked after Arteta wanted to keep him in the squad, which now seems like the wrong decision.
Arsenal’s handling of Maitland-Niles has certainly been wrong over the last few years, after an impressive spell under Unai Emery, a transfer to Wolves was imminent after a £25m bid was tabled, but the Gunners ended up blocking the deal.
This was repeated in this summers’ transfer window, as the midfielder looked to be on his way to Everton, due to the lack of game time he was receiving, but the move collapsed.
The 24-year-old was used regularly at the start of the season, and in his favoured midfield position, where he was excelling, which made the decision to keep look genius, as he was providing a lot of cover in the central midfield position.
His performance against Watford topped off, what has been an impressive campaign so far, and it seemed as though he was really going to push forward from that match.
But, Arteta had other ideas as Maitland-Niles has not started a match since then, and the midfield has been made to pay the price.
Thomas Partey has completely lost his form but still maintains his spot in the side, despite Maitland-Niles being available for selection.
Granit Xhaka returned from a three-month injury, and was automatically placed in the starting line-up, which shows the lack of faith Arteta has in the 24-year-old.
It begs question of why Arteta didn’t sanction a move for the Englishman, which would have helped the club generate revenue for another incoming in the transfer window.
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