Ainsley Maitland-Niles is very close to becoming a free agent as his loan spell at Southampton, as well as his contract with parent club Arsenal, expires at the end of the season. In an interview with The Athletic, the 25-year-old confirmed that he was not going to discuss a new contract with the Gunners and was ready to accept an offer to continue playing for Southampton on a permanent basis.
Maitland-Niles was never a regular starter under Mikel Arteta, although his versatility came in handy on many occasions as various positions on the team needed to be filled. However, this is not the situation the player wants for himself and he has been trying to turn things around by making several temporary transfers from Emirates over the last couple of seasons.
He played for West Bromwich Albion and Roma before moving to Southampton at the start of the season and has so far made a total of 22 appearances in all competitions for the Saints, with one assist.
“It’s been a long journey, but now it’s come to an end” Maitland-Niles spoke about his time as an Arsenal player. “Southampton are a great club and if they made an offer I would be more than happy to stay.”