Arsenal FA Cup winner sends Bukayo Saka warning and opens up on 'happy' exit

Former Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been speaking about life at Lyon and his old club. Maitland-Niles spent 20 years with the Gunners having joined as a youngster, ultimately breaking into the first team in 2014.

After that point, he spent another nine years with the Gunners, making 72 league appearances in all, winning an FA Cup, two Community Shields and reaching the Europa League final. He also won a Conference League title, but that was during his loan spell with Roma.

Maitland-Niles departed Arsenal at the end of his contract in 2023, penning a long-term deal with Lyon, and he has managed to become a regular with the French club, making 50 league appearances to date.

Speaking about his move to Lyon in an interview with the BBC, he explained: "I told my agent not to tell me which clubs were interested but just the ones with firm offers. Lyon were the first to come in and it was such a big club showing their trust and belief in me. It was hard to turn down and it was a good time to try something different. I was at a point where I needed to be shown a lot of love and thought it was a good fit for me.

"Of course, I am happy with where I am at this point in time. But who is to say what might come up? In the meantime, I am very happy here and enjoying every moment. I am still that same player as I was at Arsenal but now with a stronger mindset and more consistency and I know what it takes to succeed."

How Maitland-Niles sees Arsenal

Maitland-Niles spent too long at Arsenal to allow his love for the club to slip away. He added: “I'm still an Arsenal fan, I watch most of our games and I lived a boyhood dream by winning an FA Cup final at Wembley for the club. [That] was the pinnacle. I supported Arsenal since I was six. I wish them well.”

Speaking about Arteta, the midfielder continued: “[Arteta] really studied how Pep took football to new heights as one of the best managers in the world. He really studied how to break down teams and be most effective in games. Arsenal are showing that at this point, not coming close enough to win the league but you can see they are making big improvements by going close two years in a row."

But Maitland-Niles did not have a special relationship with Arteta during his time at the club, admitting: “I wouldn't say there was anything special there. I had respect for him as a manager, I thought he was a tactical genius but it was an average player-manager relationship, not especially close."

One warning Maitland-Niles does have for Arsenal is their reliance on Bukayo Saka, who is still only 23 years of age. "I think they now rely on him a bit too much and you can't expect so much from such a young player," he warns.

"He hasn't even hit his prime yet. But I think he is the driving force of the team and they miss a bit of attacking threat when he is not playing. Bukayo has become one of the world's best wingers, very consistent, knows how to kill off a game and he can pick his moment in a genius way."

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