Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has warned Arsenal loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles that he has "a lot" of work to do to force his way into the Saints' XI.
The 25-year-old has been loaned out to West Bromwich Albion and Roma since falling down the pecking order at Arsenal and seemingly has no future at the Emirates.
Maitland-Niles did not secure a permanent move away from Arsenal in the summer, but Southampton welcomed him to St Mary's on loan for the remainder of the season.
The versatile Englishman has only played 17 minutes for the South coast club so far, making his debut as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 3.
Hasenhuttl left Maitland-Niles out of the squad for Friday's 1-0 loss at Aston Villa, and the Saints boss has admitted that the Arsenal loanee still needs to go up a level before earning regular starts.
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"We have with Ainsley a lot of work to do also because he has to adapt to our game and this is something that takes time a little bit," Hasenhuttl told the press at Villa Park.
"We see also during the week what we ask him to do and especially in the midfield position it takes a little bit to understand how we want to do it.
"It doesn't make sense to throw someone in who isn't ready for what we want to do. When he is ready and on the level we think he has to be then he will help us for sure."
Maitland-Niles has been used to playing in possession-based Arsenal sides under Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta, but Hasenhuttl feels that the midfielder's off-the-ball attributes need some work.
"I think he's a very good player on the ball but he has to learn that our game starts when the ball is not with us," the 55-year-old added. "I think this is something he had never needed to do in the clubs he was playing in.
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"But meanwhile it's modern football, this is a very crucial part, you can see this is still something he has to learn, therefore we are investing our time to make him better.
"He's not the loud speaker, if you want, he takes responsibility on the pitch when he has the ball, definitely, he wants to show his qualities there.
"But I think to have a big impact in the future in football he has to add a few parts to his game he hasn't had so far and we will help him doing this."
Maitland-Niles has amassed three goals and eight assists in 132 appearances for Arsenal since coming through the club's youth ranks, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the season.
The ex-England international has won three FA Cups and two Community Shields with the Gunners, as well as becoming Europa Conference League champion with Roma last term.
Ben Knapton
