Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles' future at the Emirates Stadium remains uncertain with his spell at AS Roma set to end next month. The Hale End academy graduate completed a temporary move to the Serie A outfit during the January transfer window but he has struggled to make a lasting impression on manager Jose Mourinho, playing less than 500 minutes in the Italian top flight.
Now, the England international has taken to social media, admitting that his time in Rome has been a rollercoaster one. "Great end to a (sic) up and down season", his Instagram post read. "On to next year."
Maitland-Niles attached a picture of him posing after the Giallorossi had won the final of the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they defeated Reiss Nelson's Feyenoord 1-0 thanks to a first-half strike from Nicolo Zaniolo. It remains unclear where his future lies but a return to Mourinho's side seems unlikely given he didn't play a single minute of Wednesday's final.
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Speaking about the 24-year-old's future back in January, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta said: "Ainsley came to me and explained the reasons why he thought that the best thing for him in his career right now is to move away. He believes that the opportunity to move to Rome and working under Jose is a really good one.
"We already had this conversation in the summer and we decided to keep him at the club and assess the situation in December, but with the amount of minutes that he has played, he’s entitled to that opportunity. When a player feels that way and has a strong argument like he has, it’s very difficult to turn it away, so we decided to let him go and we wish him all the best."
