Arsenal loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles started for West Bromwich Albion as Sam Allardyce’s men ran riot against Southampton last night.
The Baggies scored three without reply last night as they begin their big push for survival. They’re still a long way off at the moment, but if they can continue to play as well as they have in their last two games, they might just have a chance.
My Revenge On Ben Foster
Maitland-Niles was given the man of the match award by Sky Sports for his brilliant display. His stats don’t look all that great, but he looked really good on the eye, and he is slowly making a real name for himself at West Brom.
The 23-year-old only left Arsenal in January in search of regular game time in his preferred central midfield role. Mikel Arteta only saw him as a full-back and Maitland-Niles has been on a mission to prove the Gunners boss wrong.
The versatile Englishman’s performances in his first two months at West Brom weren’t really great. He struggled in the middle of the park and that forced some fans to claim that he simply isn’t good enough to play in the middle of the park.
Many of them seem to have changed their mind after last night. Some fans want Arteta to give the Englishman a chance in his preferred role next season.
Many believe that he is good enough to play in the middle of the park for Arsenal, but Arteta is the main man, and we all know that he doesn’t quite agree with that assessment.
Maybe last night’s performance changed his mind? We’ll have to wait and watch.
Here’s how a few Arsenal fans reacted on Twitter:
