Martin Keown has told The Daily Mail that he can see Mikel Arteta bringing Ainsley Maitland-Niles back into Arsenal’s first XI for tonight’s trip to Liverpool.
Kieran Tierney has missed the Gunners’ last few games through injury.
Sead Kolasinac deputised for the Scot in Arsenal’s win over West Ham United in their last Premier League game, but received a lukewarm reaction to his performance.
Maitland-Niles played a huge role in the North Londoners’ end-of-season heroics last term, earning 90 minutes against Manchester City and Chelsea in the semi-final and final of the FA Cup.
The 23-year-old also shone again in a left wing-back role as Arteta masterminded a Community Shield win over Liverpool last month.
And Keown believes that Maitland-Niles, an unused sub against the Hammers last weekend, is in line for a recall at Anfield.
He said: “Ainsley Maitland-Niles was excellent at Wembley Stadium – he was solid defensively and very good at making decoy underlapping runs on Aubameyang – and we might see him at left wing-back again.”
Even if Tierney is fit, there would still be room for Maitland-Niles – who has three senior goals for the club and two have come at Anfield – if Arteta elects for a three-man defence.
Tierney and the Arsenal academy graduate have been immense in recent months and fans of the North London side surely wouldn’t mind seeing those two again, particularly against Mo Salah.
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