Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Ainsley Cory Maitland-Niles (born 29 August 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder, winger, right back or wing back for Premier League club Arsenal. He spent the 2015–16 season on loan at Ipswich Town. Internationally, he has represented England from under-17 to under-21 level.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Maitland-Niles with Arsenal in 2018
Personal information
Full name Ainsley Cory Maitland-Niles[1]
Date of birth (1997-08-29) 29 August 1997[2]
Place of birth Goodmayes, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Midfielder / Winger / Full back / Wing Back
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 15
Youth career
2003–2014 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014– Arsenal 53 (1)
2015–2016 → Ipswich Town (loan) 30 (1)
National team‡
2014 England U17 3 (0)
2014–2015 England U18 4 (1)
2015–2016 England U19 11 (2)
2016–2017 England U20 16 (1)
2017–2018 England U21 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:40, 26 July 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:25, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Club career

Arsenal
Maitland-Niles with Arsenal in 2014

Born in Goodmayes, London, Maitland-Niles is a product of Arsenal's Hale End Academy having joined the club at the age of 6.[3][4] Maitland-Niles made the step up to Arsenal's U21s during the 2013–14 season, having broken into the U18 set up the season before.[5] He signed his first professional contract with Arsenal on 24 October 2014.[6]

On 9 December 2014, Maitland-Niles made his professional debut at the age of 17 years and 102 days in a UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray, replacing Aaron Ramsey at half time in an eventual 4–1 win for Arsenal.[7] In doing so he became the second youngest player to have represented Arsenal in the Champions League, behind Jack Wilshere. Four days later, he made his Premier League debut, replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in added time in a 4–1 win against Newcastle United.[8]

Ipswich Town (loan)

On 2 July 2015, Maitland-Niles signed for Ipswich Town on a season-long loan for the 2015–16 season.[9] Upon joining the club, he was given a number seven shirt ahead of a new season.[10]

Maitland-Niles made his Ipswich Town debut, starting the whole game before being substituted in the 82nd minute, in a 2–2 draw against Brentford in the opening game of the season.[11] Since making his Ipswich Town debut, Maitland-Niles' performances immediately made an impact and was praised by manager Mick McCarthy, describing him as "outstanding".[12] His performance then saw him being named the club's player of the month for September.[13] He scored his first goal for Ipswich and his first ever senior goal in a 2–0 win over Bolton Wanderers on 3 November 2015.[14] His second goal for the club came on 19 January 2016, in a 2–1 loss against Portsmouth in the third round replay of the FA Cup.[15] Later in the season, however, Maitland-Niles' first team opportunities was soon limited, due to injuries[16] and competitions,[17] leading him to play for the reserve side.[18] After making thirty-two appearances and scoring two times in all competitions, Maitland-Niles returned to his parent club.[19]

2016–17 season

On his return to Arsenal the following season, Maitland-Niles started a match away at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup at right-back.[20] Maitland-Niles again started at centre midfield against Southampton in an FA Cup fourth-round game in an eventual 5–0 win for Arsenal.[21] He came on in the 74th minute as Arsenal was victorious by a 2–0 margin against Sutton United in the fifth round of the cup.[22]

2017–18 season

Maitland-Niles established himself as a regular first team player in Arsène Wenger's final season as manager of the club, making 28 total appearances in all competitions. On 12 June 2018, he signed a long-term contract at Arsenal.[23]

2018–19 season

On 12 August 2018, in Unai Emery's first match as manager, Maitland-Niles started at left-back. However, he would be subbed off 35 minutes into the match after suffering a broken leg.[24] After his return from his leg break and a season-ending injury for Héctor Bellerín, Maitland-Niles established himself as Emery's starting right-back for the remainder of the season. On 29 December 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 Premier League defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.[25] Maitland-Niles scored his first UEFA Europa League goal on 14 March 2019, scoring Arsenal's second in a 3–0 quarter-final second-leg victory against Stade Rennais at the Emirates Stadium.[26]

2019–20 season

With Bellerín still working his way back from injury, Maitland-Niles kept his place as Arsenal's starting right-back for the opening games of the 2019–20 Premier League. On 22 September 2019, Maitland-Niles received a red card during the first half of Arsenal's 3–2 victory against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.[27] His sending off came after he received yellow cards in both the 11th and 41st minutes. He scored his first EFL cup goal against Liverpool in a 5–5 draw (Liverpool won on penalties) at Anfield. On 1 August 2020, Maitland-Niles was selected to start in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, as Arsenal won their 14th FA Cup.[28]

International career

Maitland-Niles was born in England and is of Jamaican descent.[29] He has played for England at various levels within the youth setup of the Three Lions. He made three appearances for England U17 in 2014.[30]

He was then called up by England U18 in November 2014[31] and scored on his debut, in a 3–2 win over Poland U18.[32] He went on to make four appearance for the England U18 side.

In September 2015, Maitland-Niles was called up by England U19[33] and scored on his England U19 debut, in a 3–2 win over Germany U19 on 4 September 2015.[34] He scored again the following month, in a 2–0 win over Macedonia U19.[35] He was then included in the England U19 squad for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship that saw them reached the semi-final of the tournament.[36]

On 1 September 2016, Maitland-Niles scored on his England U20 debut, in a 1–1 draw against Brazil U20.[37] In May 2017 he was called up to England's squad for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea.[38] England eventually got to the final of the tournament where they were up against Venezuela. Maitland-Niles, who came on in the 75th minute of play, went on to raise the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup as England beat Venezuela by a 1–0 margin. This triumph also served to be the first time that England have ever won the Under-20 World Cup.[39][40]

Personal life

Maitland-Niles said he credited God and his family for his football career.[41] He also said he preferred playing on the wing, describing it as "his natural position."[42]

Career statistics
As of match played 1 August 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2014–15[43] Premier League 1010001[lower-alpha 1]030
2016–17[44] Premier League 1030300070
2017–18[45] Premier League 15010309[lower-alpha 2]0280
2018–19[46] Premier League 161202010[lower-alpha 2]1302
2019–20[47] Premier League 20050116[lower-alpha 2]0321
Total 531120912611003
Ipswich Town (loan) 2015–16[48] Championship 3012100—322
Career total 832141912611325
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Arsenal

England U20

Individual

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References
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  2. "Ainsley Maitland-Niles". 11v11.com. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  3. "Arsenal: Introducing Ainsley Maitland-Niles" – via YouTube.
  4. "55. Ainsley Maitland-Niles". Arsenal Youth. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  5. "Ainsley Maitland-Niles". Arsenal F.C.
  6. "Young duo sign professional terms". Arsenal Football Club. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  7. "Galatasaray vs Arsenal 0–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  8. "Arsenal vs. Newcastle United". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  9. "Ainsley Maitland-Niles joins Ipswich Town from Arsenal". Ipswich Town F.C. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
  10. "TOWN ANNOUNCE SQUAD NUMBERS". Ipswich Town F.C. 29 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  11. "Brentford 2–2 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  12. "Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be an outstanding player for Arsenal, says Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy". Ispwich Star. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  13. "Ainsley Maitland-Niles proves he's on his way to being an Arsenal regular by winning monthly award with Ipswich". The Metro.
  14. "Ipswich 2–0 Bolton". BBC Sport. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  15. "Portsmouth 2–1 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  16. "Team news: Fraser and Bru start at Brighton". Ipswich Star. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
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  18. "Teddy Bishop and Ainsley Maitland-Niles to play for Ipswich Town Under 21s against Millwall". Ipswich Star. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
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  20. "Starting Lineups – N Forest vs Arsenal | 20 September 2016". Sky Sports. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
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  22. "Sutton United 0–2 Arsenal". BBC Sport.
  23. "Ainsley signs new long-term contract". Arsenal F.C.
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  26. Blanchette, Rob. "Arsenal Complete Comeback, Beat Rennes 3-0 to Advance to Europa League Quarters". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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  28. McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  29. "England-born Players Could Represent Reggae Boyz Despite English FA Interest". radiojamaicanewsonline.com.
  30. "Ainsley Maitland-Niles: All you need to know about the Arsenal youngster". The Daily Telegraph. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  31. "ENGLAND U18S SQUAD NAMED FOR POLAND DOUBLE-HEADER". The FA Official Website. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  32. "CONNOLLY, MAITLAND-NILES AND ARMSTRONG SEAL WIN". The FA Official Website. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  33. "Maitland-Niles in England U19 Squad". TWTD.co.uk. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  34. "ENGLAND U19S PICK UP THRILLING VICTORY IN GERMANY". The FA Official Website. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  35. "ENGLAND U19S GET EURO QUALIFYING CAMPAIGN OFF TO FINE START". The FA Official Website. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
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  39. "Under 20 World Cup: England beat Venezuela in final". BBC Sport.
  40. "Venezuela U20 0–1 England U20: Young Lions lift World Cup to make history". Vavel.com.
  41. "Maitland-Niles on making his debut". Arsenal F.C. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  42. "Maitland-Niles – Why I love the wing". Arsenal F.C. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  43. "Games played by Ainsley Maitland-Niles in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  44. "Games played by Ainsley Maitland-Niles in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  45. "Games played by Ainsley Maitland-Niles in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  46. "Games played by Ainsley Maitland-Niles in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  47. "Games played by Ainsley Maitland-Niles in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
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  51. McNulty, Phil (25 February 2018). "Arsenal 0–3 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  52. Bevan, Chris (29 May 2019). "Chelsea 4–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
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