Mikel Arteta wants Ainsley Maitland-Niles as Arsenal, views him as key figure next season

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will not be selling Ainsley Maitland-Niles now, with the Gunners boss said to see the England man as a ‘key figure’, according to 90Min.

The versatile 23-year-old was looking to be on his way out of the club a few weeks back, as Wolves were reportedly set to snap up the Gunners starlet.

However, a change of heart from Arteta prompted by Maitland-Niles impressing in training and then in the Community Shield appears to have ensured he will be an Arsenal player for the foreseeable future.

Sources have apparently told 90Min that Maitland-Niles – along with Kieran Tierney – are now viewed as ‘key figures for him going forward’.

The news could well spell the end for Hector Bellerin, though, given Maitland-Niles is likely to play a right wing-back role for the club.

The Spaniard has been linked with a number of clubs, with PSG the latest team to emerge as potential suitors, according to The Guardian.

Maitland-Niles deserves this, what a boost for Arsenal – TBR View

And it really is that, a massive boost for Mikel Arteta in a summer where he probably thought he’d be replacing a number of his squad players.

Maitland-Niles’ emergence as a key player, then, solves a problem for the Gunners boss. It also gives him a player who is more than capable of filling in a variety of roles across both midfield and defence.

Hopefully, the new England man can repay Arteta in the coming season and prove to everyone that is going to be a quality player.