Arsenal tell Ainsley Maitland-Niles he is available for transfer even though Mikel Arteta wants him to stay

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been told by Arsenal that he will be made available for transfer this summer in order to raise funds for a club which finds itself in a difficult financial situation, although it would be Mikel Arteta’s preference that the young academy graduate stayed.

Maitland-Niles, 22, has been the subject of enquiries from Everton and Brighton and Hove Albion and is valued at upwards of £20 million as a versatile player who has starred in the final stages of Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph under their new manager. With three years left on his contract, and able to play in a number of positions, the England Under-21 player is expected to attract some interest as Arsenal prepare to sell assets this summer in order to rebuild their squad.

The club announced 55 redundancies among non-playing staff this week while also acknowledging that they will have to invest in transfer fees for new players and contract renewals if they are to have any hope next season of qualifying for the Champions League. Maitland-Niles is one of their more saleable assets and has the longest unbroken association of any player at the club, having joined the Hale End academy at the age of five.

While Arteta would prefer to have Maitland-Niles next season, he is aware that the requirement to raise funds and cut costs where possible means that not every player can stay. Arteta appeared initially unconvinced by Maitland-Niles when he was appointed before Christmas but changed his mind over the course of the season. Maitland-Niles’ substitute performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Adama Traore in particular, in Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Molineux in July was fundamental to that.

He featured against Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final win and kept his place for the victory in the final over Chelsea. On both occasions he played out of position as a left wing-back. Maitland-Niles sees himself as a central midfielder in the long term, although he acknowledges that his adaptability has made him an even more valuable asset.

Curiously, Tottenham Hotspur are among the many Premier League clubs seeking a right-back this summer. Spurs have already sold Kyle Walker-Peters to Southampton and Serge Aurier may also leave. In that scenario Japhet Tanganga would be the first choice.

The club are already looking at a major sale of players, with consideration given to the possibility that some might be among those whom Arteta would prefer to keep - were that possible. In addition, the club would like to move on a number of squad players, Sokratis, Lucas Torreira, Sead Kolasinac and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has been on loan this season. Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding are also available. Ideally Arsenal would sell Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi – both excluded by Arteta – although those deals present problems.

As the Covid crisis developed, Arsenal agreed 12.5 per cent pay cuts with their players in April, which fell to 7.5 per cent when they qualified for the Europa League this month via the FA Cup. All players who leave for a fee, or earn new contracts, will get the unpaid balance of their wages. Since the pay deal with players and staff, the club have gone on to make the 55 redundancies. It has been a bad year for Arsenal, who announced a loss of £27 million in February for the year up to May 2019, even before the Covid crisis struck.