It’s been an encouraging season for Ainsley Maitland-Niles - he’s started his first Arsenal game, become a regular in domestic cup competitions and impressed both in midfield and at right back.
The teenager spent last season on loan at Ipswich Town, where he made 32 appearances - and according to Krystian Bielik, that loan move to Suffolk has changed Maitland-Niles for the better.
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“Ainsley made his [full] debut against Nottingham Forest and then he started against Reading,” Bielik told Arsenal Player. “He’s done well and we can see that he’s a better player. I think going on loan helped him.
“He looks stronger now, he wants to go to the gym and work hard. He looks like he got experience from over there and he’s a better player now, which is good.
“If you go on loan, you have to go to a club where you can play. Of course it’s not like you go on loan and play straightaway, you have to work hard and then the manager is able to give you a chance. If you go on loan you have to be sure that when you come back you’re ready for first-team football.
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