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The Gunners star was the subject of intense transfer speculation throughout the summer, and the Wolves submitted an offer, but remains in London.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles says Mikel Arteta convinced him to stay at Arsenal after making him realize that he was not yet showing his full potential.
The 23-year-old was the subject of intense transfer speculation throughout the summer, with the Wolves submitting an offer of more than £ 20 million ($ 26 million) for Arsenal’s academy proceeds.
However, Arteta always insisted that he wanted Maitland-Niles to stay and pointed to the fact that he started him in the FA Cup semifinal and final as an example of his faith in the youngster, but that did not stop the speculation. and for a time it seemed that a move to the Wolves was a real possibility.
Ultimately, though, Maitland-Niles chose to resist the advances of the Midlands team and says it was a conversation with his manager that convinced him to stay.
“There was a lot of speculation, but I chose to stay at the club that I love,” he said. “I am happy with my decision and I am sure that the coach is happy that I too will stay.
“It was about the coach having faith in me and letting me know what was happening and the situation. He did that and everything was fine in the end.
“It just instilled in me a lot of confidence that I had in myself, but maybe I didn’t know how to get it out. It has helped me do that. We work well as a team and he knows how to bring out the best in me, and now I’m learning to bring out the best in myself more regularly. I can only thank him along the way and continue with the form that we have had. “
Shortly after Arteta arrived at Arsenal in December, he publicly challenged Maitland-Niles to show him that he was worth a spot on the team.
Having started the first few games with the Spaniard, he soon found playing time hard to come by and Arteta told him he had to “hang his head and work hard” to force his way back to the scene.
That led to suggestions that the couple had fallen out, something Maitland-Niles insists was not the case.
“There was never a difficult relationship between us,” he said ahead of Arsenal’s Europa League encounter with Rapid Vienna on Thursday night. “It was just that he demanded more of me than I demanded of myself. He told me that and I had to work hard to get back to the team. That is as simple as it was.
“The coach can always see different things than a player can because he looks at him from a different angle. He has different feelings, different emotions than what I feel at that moment. It’s a good job I heard. Now everything is paying off. “
Maitland-Niles’ form in recent months has seen him rewarded with a place on the England team, with Gareth Southgate handing the Arsenal star his first start against Denmark earlier this month.
“The playing time I have I really enjoy,” he said. “Obviously it comes with more pressure right now because I’m on a bigger stage.
“I’m still happy to play my way and keep working hard, I try to show the coach that I am the best man for the job. That’s what I’m going to keep trying to do. “
