Interview

'We're a team in progress, stick with us'

Ainsley Maitland-Niles says our true character came through in the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday.

We had a tough restart with defeats at Manchester City and Brighton - where we let a lead slip - but back-to-back wins at Southampton and Sheffield United have transformed the mood.

 

Maitland-Niles, who returned to the side and made a team-high four tackles, is convinced we are on the up.

 

"We've been building a lot of character," he told Arsenal Digital.

 

"The tough times we're in show we've got the character to come back and keep fighting, trying to do as well as we can in the league and in the domestic cups, as much as we can. I think today was just the icing on the cake in showing people we can really do it.

 

"[My message to the fans is to] just keep supporting us, stick with us. We're a team in progress, just like a lot of other teams, and we're trying to win as many games as we can to please the fans.

 

"It's an amazing feeling [to reach the semi-final]," he added. "Every club wants to go to Wembley and play. For us to do it here today, away, and we haven't had the best of results away recently... it's good to pick up that win."