Speaking on the Ornstein & Chapman Podcast, David Ornstein has claimed that Arsenal still believe that Ainsley Maitland-Niles should have joined Southampton rather than going to West Brom.
The Baggies manages to land Maitland-Niles on deadline day, but there were plenty of other sides in for him, and Arsenal still think he should have gone to Southampton rather than heading to The Hawthorns.
Unfortunately, the England international didn’t quite see it that way as he wasn’t impressed with the south-coast club’s plan to utilise him as a full-back.
“Southampton were on the scene, they were initially looking to play him as a full-back, and he didn’t want that,” Ornstein said.
“They very quickly came to an agreement with Arsenal, and it really did suit Arsenal, they think and they still think he should have gone there and Southampton were wanting him, they were pushing, they were calling overnight and asking for an answer before deadline day.”
This is certainly interesting to hear.
Arsenal think that he should jave joined Southampton rather than West Brom, but we can understand why he wanted to head to Albion instead.
Yes, West Brom may not be as good as Southampton, and working under Sam Allardyce may not be as beneficial as working with Ralph Hasenhuttl, but at least at West Brom he’s guaranteed to be one of their key players, while at Southampton, he’d be competing for spaces in a position he doesn’t really want to play in.
Time will tell whether or not the club or the player are right about this one.
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