At the moment Ainsley Maitland-Niles is almost guaranteed a spot in the first-team simply because there is no one to replace him but once Hector Bellerin is back you just know his days as a starter are numbered.
The biggest problem for the 22-year-old is that he is not a natural defender and dislikes the role he has been given but the options for him in midfield are limited.
He also has not helped himself by not trying to make the right wing-back spot his own, he has begrudgingly accepted it and truth be told, has never excelled in the position.
Which is strange because knowing that Bellerin would be out for so long you would have thought that he would have moved heaven and earth to become the best wing-back he could.
If Arsenal fans are honest and most are, then they will admit that the young man is not actually that good, he is kind of average, he never really frightens defenders when going forward, he is not the best crosser of the ball and tracking back appears to be very low down on his priority list.
Maitland-Niles has blown a great opportunity to secure a long term role in the Arsenal side and in just a few weeks time he will become a fringe player, he is not going to shift anyone out of midfield and you have to think that at some point the club will bring in a back-up for Bellerin that both wants to play in that position and is actually effective in it.
So, what to do with Maitland-Niles? Sell him next summer has to be a strong option I would suggest and he will only have himself to blame if that happens.