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Ainsley Maitland-Niles is set to return to Arsenal at the end of the current campaign.
The utility player joined Roma on loan until the end of the season, and there was an option to make that move permanent.
However, he has failed to impress in Serie A so far, and manager Jose Mourinho has already begun eyeing replacements for him, including Barcelona’s Sergio Dest.
Although Maitland-Niles insists that his preferred position is midfield, Mourinho has deployed him at full-back, where he has made six appearances for the Serie A side so far.
The 24-year old is under contract at the Emirates until June 2023, but now the Gunners face a potential headache as to what to do with him, as his spell in Italy is hardly likely to have enhanced his market value.
He spent the second half of last season on loan with West Brom and ahs previously been linked with Everton.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.