Between 2017/18 and 2019/20, Ainsley Maitland-Niles played no fewer than 84 games for Arsenal in all competitions. He was a regular fixture in the Premier League, and even started the FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea.
But that still wasn’t enough to keep the academy graduate happy. He wanted to play, yes, but not just anywhere on the pitch. Instead of seeing his versatility as a strength, Maitland-Niles seemed to view it as a curse; an obstacle blocking his path to a favoured central midfield role.
If the 25-year-old had simply contented himself with an important squad role at one of Britain’s biggest clubs, he’d perhaps still be part of Mikel Arteta’s plans today, instead of spending the season out on loan at Southampton as his former team-mates ascend to the summit of the Premier League table.
Arteta, after all, likes adaptable footballers who can thrive in a variety of roles. Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Bukayo Saka, Oleksandr Zinchenko, for instance. Maitland-Niles was a big part of the Spaniard’s plans after he took over from Unai Emery three years ago too; thriving at left-wing back as Arsenal beat Chelsea at Wembley.
“I think to have versatile players that can play at the level that Ben can in both positions – at central defender and full-back, is something that any manager wants,” Arteta said recently of White, hailing his evolution into a rampaging right-back
Mikel Arteta would love Weston McKennie at Arsenal
The difference between Maitland-Niles and, say, Weston McKennie is that the USA international embraces his flexibility. Since joining Juventus from Schalke in a £16 million deal, the Texan-born enforcer has played as a box-to-box number eight, a deep-lying number six, wide on the flanks and even in defence.
“I work hard in whatever position you put me in,” McKennie told the Bundesliga website. “I think that’s a quality you can’t teach. It’s a quality you either have or you don’t.
“It’s the mentality of it. Obviously, it was different playing centre-back sometimes, playing right-back and then playing forward. (Playing in attack is) definitely not somewhere I feel most comfortable. But whatever I can do to help my team.”
“If it’s defensive work, I like to go back and help my teammates out. But if it’s offensive, I like to try and score. Who doesn’t like scoring goals?”
“Weston isn’t just important to us for his goals,” added former Schalke boss Domenico Tedesco (Bundesliga website). “He embodies everything that we strive to stand for. He has a good mentality, he’s powerful, down-to-earth and works hard. And he can play as a (number) six, eight or ten.”
According to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs, Arsenal have joined Everton, Newcastle and Leeds United in scouting McKennie ahead of a potential January bid for Juventus’ jack-of-all-trades.
And if Arteta likes players who can thrive in a variety of different positions, then he’ll love Weston McKennie.
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