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Wenger’s tips for first-team success next season

Whether or not Arsene Wenger sits on the North Bank next season remains to be seen, but the Arsenal fan in him has high hopes for some of our younger players.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles caught the eye at Leicester on Wednesday - setting up a goal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - while Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to get more valuable first-team experience.

All of our players will have to prove themselves to whoever succeeds Wenger, but there are certain names Wenger expects to see on the teamsheet.

“I would say Maitland-Niles, certainly, from the young players, and Nketiah, certainly, and then it depends who will come in - you have Willock and of course Reiss Nelson,” he told Arsenal.com.

“Will they get a chance or not or will they go somewhere on loan? The next manager will have to decide that after pre-season. Nketiah has that quality to score goals and overall I think he might get a chance very early. The two others have the quality as well.

“We all are great admirers of Ainsley’s talent and of his quality. What you want from him is for him to push himself. When he digs a little bit more than he naturally would like to, you will see a fantastic football player and I hope that next season will confirm that.

“I am convinced there is something special in this team that will come out next season. There’s one or two things to change but this team has special quality - mentally and on the football front. I will really support them next season because I think they can surprise everybody.”