Alan Smith gave his take on Arsenal-owned West Bromwich Albion player Ainsley Maitland-Niles on Sky Sports Premier League (4:36pm, February 1, 2021).
The former Arsenal star, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, praised Maitland-Niles, but he pointed out that the 23-year-old’s problem is his playing position.
Maitland-Niles can play as a full-back and as a midfielder. The 23-year-old prefers to play in a box-to-box role, as quoted in The Athletic, but he has been used as a full-back by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
It remains to be seen whether West Brom manager Sam Allardyce finds a spot in his midfield department for the England international.
Smith said about Maitland-Niles on Sky Sports Premier League (4:36pm, February 1, 2021): “It’s good for Ainsley, he’s not going to get a game under Arteta. It’s a funny situation with him – he’s clearly a talented boy, I think the problem is what’s his position? Is Arteta sure what his position is?
“He’s done ever so well in the wing-back role if you think back to last season, particularly in the FA Cup run. I don’t see him though, as a defender, as somebody when pushed onto the back foot, that he’s got that grittiness, that tenacity to stop that cross, to make sure that fire doesn’t get past.”
Finding a position
If Maitland-Niles wants to play in midfield, then that is the position that he has to persevere in.
There is no point in the 23-year-old playing as a full-back if he is not happy there. After all, it is his career, and he is very young.
Playing regular first-team football at West Brom in the coming weeks and months will help Maitland-Niles earn a spot in the England squad for the European Championship in the summer of 2021, but in the long run, he should do what he wants to.
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