Arsenal are preparing to return to action next week, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles just might be ready to fight for his place.
The 22 year-old had fallen out of favour in North London this season, following the arrival of Mikel Arteta as coach in December, but he may be given a lifeline in the coming months.
AC Milan are credited with an interest in his signature according to the DailyMail, and with 10 league games left to play, he could well find himself fighting for his future.
We are set to return to action next Wednesday against Manchester City, but games are expected to come thick and fast as they look to wrap the campaign up, and new rules have even been brought in to protect the players, with as many as five substitutions allowed for the remainder of the campaign.
Maitland-Niles was selected to start in his favoured midfield role in our first friendly on Saturday as we prepare to return to action, and is said to have pulled the strings as we beat Charlton 6-0.
Question marks have been raised about our midfield this term, and a number of targets have been mooted, but with our midfield viewed as one of our weakest spots, AMN may well get the nod to stake a claim for his preferred role.
Mikel Arteta has previously told ArsenalFC that the player needs to work hard in training to show him that he is deserving of a spot, with younger and hungrier players, but AMN may well find himself getting more match minutes due to the new regulations, which could well see him do his talking on the pitch.
Does Maitland-Niles have a shot at earning a regular first-team role in midfield? Is he good enough for Arsenal FC?
Patrick
