da betcris： [ad_pod ]
da spicy bet： Unai Emery has continued Arsenal’s tradition of blooding in the next generation of academy talent into the senior squad, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of that policy so far.
What’s the word?
Arsenal were in thoroughly professional form against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon as they clinched a 2-0 victory to move back into the top-four.
It was a complete team performance littered with fine individual displays, and BBC pundit Garth Crooks was eager to pay tribute to two players in his team of the week column, namely Maitland-Niles and Sokratis.
The former Ipswich loanee started the game at right-wing-back and put in an accomplished display to help nullify the threat offered by Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw, and Crooks claimed that he cut a significantly more mature figure than the one who struggled to cope with big games earlier in the season.
‘I’ve seen Ainsley Maitland-Niles play in big games before and struggle but not on this occasion. His performance against a leggy Manchester United showed signs of a player maturing nicely.
‘He looked solid in defence and always very composed on the ball. I get the feeling that Unai Emery may have put the reins on this lad and possibly the blinkers too.’
A player transformed by Emery?
The first thing to note about the 21-year-old’s development under Emery is the position in which he has been deployed. Arsene Wenger utilised the prodigy’s versatility and deployed him in a handful of different midfield and defensive roles, but the Spaniard has been consistent in playing him on the right.
So far that new sense of clarity regarding where Maitland-Niles’ role in the team lies seems to have stimulated an improvement in the player’s understanding of what is expected of him and how it correlates to the players around him.
As Crooks has alluded to, the England under-21 international has looked composed and solid this season, and that is largely down to Emery’s decision to hand him a clearly defined role within the side.
And, if he continues to match the level of performance he showed against United on Sunday, there is no doubt he can step up another level and establish himself as a regular in the starting XI in 2019.