Ainsley Maitland-Niles has changed his mind about playing right-back for Arsenal, the Athletic report.
Change of heart
Maitland-Niles has previously stated that he sees himself as a midfielder and went to West Bromwich Albion on loan last term to try and prove his worth in the centre of the pitch.
The Arsenal youngster did well at the Hawthorns, but there is a long-standing feeling that he performs best when utilised as a right-back.
And it seems that the Arsenal man is finally coming round to the idea of playing in defence.
Indeed, the Athletic say that Maitland-Niles now believes that playing as a right-back may be his best way to get back into the England set-up.
Music to Arteta’s ears?
The 24-year-old’s decision is likely to be music to the ears of Mikel Arteta.
Maitland-Niles has previously been regarded as one of Arsenal’s best options on the right-hand side of their defence, but his reluctance to play there has made things slightly awkward.
The problem for Maitland-Niles is that Arsenal have now signed Takihero Tomiyasu, who has made an extremely bright start to life in North London.
Tomiyasu won Arsenal’s Player of the Month award for September, meaning Maitland-Niles has little chance of taking his place in the near future.
That being said, if he is open to playing in defence now he could receive greater opportunities in the weeks ahead, and his new found enthusiasm over playing at right-back looks like a wise decision from a player in desperate need of more regular game time.
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