Ainsley Maitland-Niles, the 24-year-old midfielder from Arsenal, is struggling to find his form in Italy. He joined AS Roma on loan in January, hoping to revive his career after struggling to impress at West Brom on loan in the previous season. However, his time in Italy has been far from easy, with mixed performances and lack of game time.
Maitland-Niles began his career at Arsenal as a full-back but later expressed his desire to play in the midfield position. However, he struggled to make an impact in that role during his loan spell at West Brom. As a result, he fell down the pecking order at Arsenal, and his chances of regular first-team football seemed limited.
In January 2022, Maitland-Niles joined AS Roma on loan, hoping to kick-start his career. However, his debut for the Giallorossi was a disaster, as he made several defensive errors in a 4-3 loss to Juventus. He only completed one of his six crosses, and his overall performance left a lot to be desired.
Things improved in his next game against Cagliari, where he was one of the better performers in the Roma squad. However, his subsequent performances failed to impress new manager Jose Mourinho, who began to lose faith in the Englishman. Mourinho later suggested that Maitland-Niles might not have settled well in Italy.
Maitland-Niles was an anonymous substitute in a game against Sassuolo before starting against Hellas Verona on February 19. Unfortunately, his performance was again below par, and he was subsequently relegated to the bench. He only made two cameo appearances before the end of the season, failing to make an impact in either of them.
It has been a difficult few years for Maitland-Niles, who has struggled to establish himself as a regular in the Arsenal first team. His move to Roma was seen as a chance for him to prove himself on the European stage, but things haven’t gone according to plan.
