Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy believes on-loan winger Ainsley Maitland-Niles has what it takes to become an Arsenal regular in the future.
The 17-year-old has come off the bench three times for Arsenal, making his Arsenal debut as a half-time substitute against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League back in December.
He’s had a good start with Ipswich so far, starting all three of the team’s Championship matches this season, and taking the corner for David McGoldrick’s winner against Burnley on Tuesday.
“Wow. The talent of him; I think he’s going to play for Arsenal, there’s no doubt in my mind,” McCarthy told BBC Radio Suffolk.
“We are just so lucky to have him.”
Maitland-Niles has helped his current side to seven points out of a potential nine, which is considered a very good start for a team of the weight of Ipswich Town. McCarthy has revealed that Maitland-Niles has been on his radar for a while now…
Nobody knew anything about him. I watched him play against Reading for [Arsenal’s] under-21s last season and I thought he was great.
I enquired about him in January, but they needed him for their Champions League squad.
The Ipswich Town boss is a fan of the England U18s international and is delighted with the presence of the kid who is enjoying his time at Ipswich: “He’s such a lovely kid and all, he’s fitted in perfectly.
“What’s nice for him is we’ve got Josh Emmanuel, Myles Kenlock, Adam McDonnell and Teddy Bishop, they’re his age and peers.”
He also revealed that Maitland-Niles works really hard on himself and grabs any opportunity of improving: “I had the conversation with him ‘I know you can play, but if you don’t run around and don’t put a shift in you won’t play’ but he’s a workaholic.”
