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Ainsley Maitland-Niles: Midfielder or in deNile?

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samspade

"You said I said" detection expert at your service
Gents this bloke's touch and passing is so inconsistent MF is not gonna happen for him at the top level, I've seen very little of him using his body to shield the ball too. I love to see Arsenal graduates make the grade and I think this bloke could have been a top RB for us but a midfielder he is not.
 

Macho

In search of Pure Profit 💸
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Country: England
AMN has always tried to position himself as a leader ever since he was made captain of the U18 team, this was apparent in his early days for the U21s/U23s. It still raises questions about his overall nonchalant demeanour when playing, and the lack of focus at crucial points. I still feel an extended run of CM games where he gets to enjoy his football again will gradually change that.

Still think he's a shoe-in to leave. We get a decent £20m bump and he finally gets the midfield role he wants (hopefully).
Didn't know that regarding captaincy.

AMN and Nelson at Palace >>>
Would be decent.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
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Didn't know that regarding captaincy.

AMN and Nelson at Palace >>>
Would be decent.
I remember he had an interview back then talking about how he felt he had grown as a player when he had captained teams both at club and national level. He felt he had earned the responsibility and sought to continue in that vein.
 

Iceman10

Established Member
I actually think he's very good. I want to see him given that #10 spot at Palace. Still quite raw but a lot of natural ability.
Not convinced he is going to grow much beyond where he is, ending up a bit like players like Ross Barkley, but will see. Definitely not in interests of the player to move to a bigger club at this point.
 

Gooner416

Master of Stonks
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Well at least we know he definitely isn't going back to West Brom :lol:

Like I said, I've chosen a hill to die on here, this won't change.
Not the staunchest of endorsements. Wonder if there's another PL club willing to give him a go next season in the middle. Personally, I didn't think he performed poorly.
 

The_Playmaker

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Well at least we know he definitely isn't going back to West Brom :lol:

Like I said, I've chosen a hill to die on here, this won't change.
I have to say, I will be quite disappointed when he leaves. People will say we have seen enough of him, but for a player who has done a job for thr club at rwb, lwb, RM, lb, cm, rb. Being a Hale and boy, I find it really sad that he was never given an extensive run in any of those positions.

A club that had a vision would have been able to give him minutes at cm ahead of Elneny, Ceballos and even Willock. We would have been able to convince him to be a rb if we didn't see his future as a cm, as he is probably the closest thing we could get to Cancelo in the squad.

It's just another misuse of resources to add to the list.
 

Iceman10

Established Member
Not the staunchest of endorsements. Wonder if there's another PL club willing to give him a go next season in the middle. Personally, I didn't think he performed poorly.
Potential for deals with players going both ways, Brighton, maybe also Norwich. Norwich might seem insulting to consider for the player, but if his heart is set with CM then he potentially can get regular playing time there.
 

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
I have to say, I will be quite disappointed when he leaves. People will say we have seen enough of him, but for a player who has done a job for thr club at rwb, lwb, RM, lb, cm, rb. Being a Hale and boy, I find it really sad that he was never given an extensive run in any of those positions.

A club that had a vision would have been able to give him minutes at cm ahead of Elneny, Ceballos and even Willock. We would have been able to convince him to be a rb if we didn't see his future as a cm, as he is probably the closest thing we could get to Cancelo in the squad.

It's just another misuse of resources to add to the list.

His one v one defending is really good from the fullback position. Don't think his technique and passing are good enough to play CM for any top 10 team in the EPL. If he gets his mentality right, he can be a very good squad player with his athleticism and ability as a man defender.
 

The_Playmaker

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His one v one defending is really good from the fullback position. Don't think his technique and passing are good enough to play CM for any top 10 team in the EPL. If he gets his mentality right, he can be a very good squad player with his athleticism and ability as a man defender.
Its just dependant on how Arteta wants to play. I find it really odd that he played Bellerin religiously as an undrlapping fullback and got him to tuck into midfield ahead of AMN. I remember AMN has a few good games as an inverted fullback and the we played Palace away. He couldn't invert as Zaha stayed so wide. He dealt with Zaha all game, but his passing was off and he couldn't get into the position that Arteta wanted him. It is like he was punished for that performance. He didn't get a look in after that.

I just find it really odd that we are selling a player who worked his way into the England squad through performances and we are going to keep players who are so poor in quality.
 

Vanpayslip

Active Member
His biggest problem is that he has had a few games where he has played very bad. I mean bad beyond what is expected of a player playing in the top half of the league. He doesn’t cut it at Arsenal.

He probably needs a few years at a club that can dedicate time to him in training and give him minutes in games. At Arsenal, some of his worst performances were so bad that he couldn’t really be relied on.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
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I have to say, I will be quite disappointed when he leaves. People will say we have seen enough of him, but for a player who has done a job for thr club at rwb, lwb, RM, lb, cm, rb. Being a Hale and boy, I find it really sad that he was never given an extensive run in any of those positions.

A club that had a vision would have been able to give him minutes at cm ahead of Elneny, Ceballos and even Willock. We would have been able to convince him to be a rb if we didn't see his future as a cm, as he is probably the closest thing we could get to Cancelo in the squad.

It's just another misuse of resources to add to the list.
Oh I'll be majorly disappointed when he leaves despite expecting it to happen. He was never given a fair crack at midfield, not at any point in his first team career until Big Sam. I don't think he helped himself by being careless in multiple matches but the ability has always been there, just needed trust IMO. Playing RB is what derailed his career IMO, he never should have played there. That was the beginning of the end, and it's only on sheer natural ability that he still carved out numerous games and decent performances in the RB position - to the point that now everyone thinks he's solely a RB.

That misuse dates back to Wenger I'm afraid. I get he liked to play dudes out of position to help their development. IMO it backfired with AMN, to the point where he's unhappy with his career even though he was getting minutes at RB. So leaving IMO is unavoidable here, he has to go to rebuild his career - especially if he wants to continue being a midfielder. They don't trust him to be one here and he doesn't want to be a RB (rightfully IMO).
 
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