Arsenal allowed utility man Ainsley Maitland-Niles to leave for free last summer and he has now delivered his verdict on the Gunners.
The Gunners continue to push for the Premier League title and kept their hopes alive over the weekend.
Arsenal faced Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon and this was a potential banana skin with the Cherries impressing under Andoni Iraola.
Mikel Arteta’s men coasted home to a 3-0 victory though with Bukayo Saka opening the scoring with a first-half penalty.
Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice added to the scoreline after the break with Arsenal ensuring they didn’t slip up.
There were some contentious moments; Havertz going down for the penalty has been criticised whilst Bournemouth had a goal ruled out in the second half for a soft nudge on David Raya.
Arsenal won’t care though as it’s another three points for the tally and still some hope of a Premier League title win as the end of the season draws closer.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles on Arsenal
Everybody connected to Arsenal will be hoping for a slip-up from Manchester City, which could send the title to the Emirates Stadium.
Even players who have left the club in recent times are cheering Arsenal on from afar, including Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
A graduate from the Arsenal academy, Maitland-Niles spent 20 years in the club’s ranks having joined at the age of just six.
After progressing through the Hale End ranks, Maitland-Niles managed more than 130 first-team outings for Arsenal.
The Gunners allowed Maitland-Niles to leave at the end of his contract last summer, following loan spells at Ipswich Town, West Bromwich Albion, Roma and Southampton.
Now in France with Lyon, Maitland-Niles has told The Athletic that he still hopes to see Arsenal win the Premier League title this season.
Arteta may have let Maitland-Niles leave the club but the Lyon ace is still supporting the Gunners and has ‘no envy’ at all, cherishing his time at the club fully.
“I’ll cherish it forever,” said Maitland-Niles. “It’s my boyhood club, I still support them and look out for them. I’m hoping they are going to win the league this year. I’d love to see them do it. I have no envy in my heart at all. It’s a great thing to have grown up in such a great club, the way they taught us to play football and how to read the game over the years,” he added.
How is Maitland-Niles faring in France?
Maitland-Niles really needed a move in order to settle down and play regular first-team football again.
The 26-year-old’s loan moves were a mixed bag and he struggled to find a settled role at Arsenal.
Part of the problem was that Maitland-Niles was regularly caught between being a midfielder and a right back, sometimes even a left back.
Now with Lyon, it’s a similar story.
Maitland-Niles has predominantly played as a right back with Lyon, but has also featured at left back and in midfield, showing his versatility again.
Four assists and one goal in 26 games for Lyon is a decent return for Maitland-Niles and the hope is that he will kick on in France moving forward – possibly after celebrating an Arsenal title win.