Wantaway Arsenal midfielder axed from first team training
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been told he won’t be training with the Arsenal first team after his move to Everton was blocked by the club.
The Englishman fell out of favour last season and joined West Brom on loan in search of game time.
He made 15 appearances for the Baggies from January onwards as they were relegated from the Premier League.
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And Everton registered an interest in signing the 24-year-old on loan before Tuesday’s deadline, but the Gunners were not interested.
After finding out he would not get his move, Maitland-Niles took to social media to express his desire to leave the club.
He said in an Instagram story: “All I wanna do is go where I’m wanted and where I’m gonna play. @Arsenal.”
AMN is behind midfielders Granit Xhaka, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Thomas Partey in the pecking order.
He can also operate as a full-back or wing-back – primarily on the right hand side – but Arteta tends to use either Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers or Cedric Soares in right-back.
Furthermore, on Tuesday, Mirror journalist John Cross reported the England international has been told he won’t be training with the first team.
After his move to Everton was blocked, Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been told he won’t be training with the Arsenal first team. More @MirrorFootball
— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) August 31, 2021
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was clearly left fuming with the player’s Instagram post, but it is unclear whether or not he will leave on deadline day.
Maitland-Niles impressed for the Gunners whenever he played in defence, but is not favoured by Arteta anymore.
The player wants first team football and is an issue that will need to be resolved before the transfer window shuts on Tuesday evening.
Elsewhere, Barcelona have been offered the option to sign Alexandre Lacazette for €15million, according to Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb.
Arsenal have been open to the idea of selling the Frenchman this summer as the player has entered the final year of his contract, with Atletico Madrid also keeping tabs on his situation.
Lacazette made the move from Lyon to north London in 2017 for a fee in the region of £48m.
The 30-year-old has made 172 Arsenal appearances, scoring 66 and assisting 28.