Arsenal News: Ainsley Maitland-Niles admits to coming under criticism for his defending, vows to improve

Modified Sep 19, 2019 13:00 GMT

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What's the story?

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has conceded that he needs to work on his defensive endeavours amid criticism over his performances in his new role in the Arsenal squad in the absence of regular right-back Hector Bellerin.

In case you didn't know...

A product of Arsenal's academy system in north London, Maitland-Niles was initially developed as a central midfielder as opposed to a natural full-back.

However, over the last few months, Unai Emery has utilised the 22-year-old at the vacant right-back position as Bellerin recovers from an injury he suffered midway through last season.

The versatile England international is not new to the arrangement, having been used to plug holes in different positions under Arsene Wenger as well.

Maitland-Niles has been subjected to a fair share of criticism for his performances in his new position and is expected to be benched the moment Bellerin returns to the squad at the end of September.

The heart of the matter

When asked if he expects to be benched when Bellerin returns, Maitland-Niles told Sky Sports,

"Only time will tell and of course I want to play as many games as I can.

"I want to stay in the team, but if the manager chooses to pick him over me, that's something I will have to live with. I'll just have to keep training and working hard so that I get picked instead."

The Arsenal star acknowledged the criticism that he has received for his performances at defence and has vowed that he will work hard to improve his form.

"I'm a midfielder by trade, either central or on the wing, it's all the same to me. I'm not a defender so I do get a lot of stick about my defending being poor, but it's something I'm learning and have been learning for a couple of years now.

"It's not going to come overnight. If I was a defender as a kid, and my defending was poor, I would understand where the criticism is coming from, but I'm trying my best for the team and for the manager."

"It's not where I would choose to put myself in the team, as I'm an attacking player by trade. That's all I can try to bring to the team. I'm still learning the defensive side, so when players are running at me, and they're throwing skills at me, I'm still learning how to deal with that."