Ainsley Maitland-Niles comments on decision to stay at Arsenal

Follow us on Google Discover

Arsenal ace Ainsley Maitland-Niles has told Sky Sports that there was ‘never’ a frayed relationship with boss Mikel Arteta after speculation surrounding a move away.

Maitland-Niles was a target for Wolverhampton Wanderers over the summer, but their £15million bid was rejected – and they then backed away according to Sky Sports.

Wolves were viewing Maitland-Niles as a replacement for Matt Doherty following his move to Tottenham Hotspur, but couldn’t prise him away from the Emirates Stadium.

In the end, the 23-year-old decided to stay at Arsenal and fight for his place, though just where his place is remains unclear given his versatility.

Right wing back, left wing back, central midfield, Maitland-Niles has performed wherever Mikel Arteta has asked him to, despite some wondering whether he would make the grade under the Spaniard.

Now, Maitland-Niles has claimed that there no rocky relationship with Arteta at all, and claims that he was just demanding more from him than he was demanding from himself – and now he has confidence, he feels like Arsenal are seeing the real him.

Maitland-Niles added that he loves Arsenal and believes Arteta is happy that he stayed, believing ‘everythign was fine in the end’ as he snubbed a move away.

“There was a lot of speculation going around but ultimately I chose to stay at the club, which I love, and I’m happy with my decision and I’m sure the manager is happy that I stayed,” said Maitland-Niles. “It was about the manager having faith in me, he’s done that and everything was fine in the end.”

“It was never a rocky relationship between us. He was just demanding more from me than I was demanding from myself and he told me I had work to do to get back into the team. He instilled a lot of confidence in me, that I had in myself but maybe I didn’t know how to bring out and he’s helped me do that. We work well as a team and he knows how to get the best out of me and I’m learning to get the best out of myself more regularly,” he added.