As a Hale End graduate, Ainsley Maitland-Niles grew up as a central midfielder, but has made his first-team breakthrough in a position not many would have expected.
The Under-20 World Cup winner has excelled on the left side of our backline, but the hard work didn’t begin this season. It’s been years in the making.
“Even before I was playing full back, I used to train with the first team at full back when the boss called me over,” Maitland-Niles told Arsenal Player.
“It just showed that he really believed in me already, so I just thought I had to take some stuff on in case I needed it in the future.