Mikel Arteta Opens up About his Honest Conversation with Ainsley Maitland-Niles … But The Player Already Looking At his Roma Move

Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles is set to join Jose Mourinho’s Roma on loan, and manager Mikel Arteta admits he won’t be able to stop him.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles will join Jose Mourinho’s Roma on loan for the rest of the season, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wished him well.

Despite concerns from some quarters that Arsenal may be left short in midfield, the England international is set to join the Serie A team on a permanent basis.

Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny, who are currently playing Ghana and Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations this month, will miss a number of games, including this weekend’s FA Cup meeting against Nottingham Forest.

Arteta, on the other hand, has recognized that he has no power to stop Maitland-Niles from exploring a move abroad and has wished him well.

“Ainsley came to me and explained why he thought the best thing for him in his career right now was to move away,” the Gunners manager added.

“He thought the opportunity to work with Jose in Rome was a nice one.” With the amount of minutes he’s played, he was certainly entitled to the chance. “All the best to him,” we say.

Arsenal has a hectic few weeks ahead of them, with a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool and a north London derby against Tottenham.

“We are extremely, very short at the moment,” Arteta said of the shortage of players. However, this cannot be the sole basis for keeping a player.

“He was quite straightforward with me, and I was able to comprehend the problem.” We’re going to relocate and search for other solutions because we’re running out of space.”

For the cup fixture against Forest, Arteta could be without eight players, including Maitland-Niles.

Nicolas Pepe (AFCON), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (AFCON/Covid), Sead Kolasinac (ankle), and Gabriel (suspension) will all miss the game in addition to Partey and Elneny.

Calum Chambers is recovering from Covid, but if he tests negative twice before the tie, he may be able to play.

“We’re in a unique situation,” Arteta explained, “since there are three players with various concerns at the moment.” “We have to live with it, and the players who are here so far have shown to be very devoted.”

Many Arsenal fans are eager to see Charlie Patino, who scored on his senior debut against Sunderland last month, again against Forest.