What do you think they're smoking over there at the Emirates?
Arsenal have blocked Ainsley Maitland-Niles from training with the club's first team, a day after the wing-back took to social media to express his desire to leave the club.
On Monday, the 24-year-old, who spent last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, posted to his Instagram Story, saying: "All I wanna do is go where I'm wanted and where I'm gonna play." He also tagged the club in the post.
https://twitter.com/johncrossmirror/status/1432627779447758848?s=20
According to John Cross of the
Mirror, Arsenal have now told the player that not only will he be staying at the club, but that he also will not be training with the first team.
The move represents the latest bizarre decision made by what increasingly appears to be a club without a plan, making random decisions without consideration for their consequences.
https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1432330556742815752?s=20
Maitland-Niles is said to be keen for a move to Everton, or as he says, somewhere he's "gonna play", after seeing the likes of Callum Chambers (not a full-back) and Cedric Soares (not even really a footballer) playing at right-back in the club's opening games of the season.
The unnecessary drama surrounding the player only adds to what has been a truly disastrous start to the season for Arsenal. The club have lost their opening three games of the league season, most recently a 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Manchester City, and currently sit bottom of the league with a -9 goal difference.
Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League last season, and have spent more than £130 million on transfers this summer. Despite this, their squad does not appear to have obviously improved, and fans have been left wondering exactly what Mikel Arteta's talents are, beyond alienating first team players.
