Former Crystal Palace forward Yannick Bolasie has asked Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to ‘free’ Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
The 23-year-old was once again a spectator as the Gunners fell to a 2-0 loss to north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
In a tweet on Twitter, the 31-year-old sent the two worded messaged to the Spaniard after the Englishman failed to make it off the bench.
Bolasie said: “Free AMN”. (via Yannick Bolasie)
Who should start at right-back for the rest of the season?
Hector Bellerin
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
I’m not sure how many more disastrous performances I can watch from Hector Bellerin over in the right-back position. The Spaniard truly has been awful in recent games, and it’s beggars belief as to how Maitland-Niles hasn’t been given an opportunity over the Spaniard.
It’s quite amazing that the England international isn’t being afforded an opportunity in the wake of Bellerin’s poor form, given what the former Manchester City coach has said about the player in the past. Back in March, Arteta told the player to get his head down and work for his place in the starting XI.
Maitland-Niles can’t have done much more than his display in the Europa League last week with one publication giving him an eight out of 10.
Among many aspects of Bellerin’s poor displays, one key thing sticks out. He’s a professional footballer, who is yet to learn how to take a throw-in. Struggling to complete one of the simpler parts of football is crazy with the 26-year-old having committed a staggering five foul throws across all competitions this season.
He wasn’t much better in his defending either with Spurs taking advantage of his defensive weaknesses by constantly attacking down their left-hand side. The Spain international was lambasted by Gunners legend Tony Adams for his poor display with the club legend claiming he needs to ‘made into a right-back’.
Bellerin has been shocking for a few weeks now. However, what remains to be seen is whether Arteta even gives Maitland-Niles the chance to prove himself in the next few league games.
In other news, Arteta identified one issue from the loss to Spurs.
