Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to ease his side's midfield crisis ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Chelsea.
Francis Coquelin is currently the only senior central midfielder available for the Gunners heading into the crunch match at Stamford Bridge, with Granit Xhaka suspended, Mohamed Elneny at the Africa Cup of Nations and Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey both injured.
At 19 years old, Maitland-Niles is yet to start a Premier League game and has spent most of his senior career playing as a full-back, but Wenger believes that he has the qualities to impress in the middle of the park.
"Ainsley Maitland-Niles has played a lot on the flanks but I've seen qualities in him that tell me he can be useful in the middle and he can also be a defensive specialist. He's very good in one against ones and quick in his recoveries, very good in duels, and not scared to play either," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
"I'm pleased for him because he's a boy who has had to be patient, who has a good mentality. I like him very much and I think his game is very positive. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain impressed me in the middle too. He's a player who can be effective on the flanks and when he's in a more central role.
"When you are young, you want to come in the team and the push is always a bit more on the flank. Why? Because centrally there is more experience demanded, more planning, more tactical planning, and on the flanks you can be a bit more instinctive. But naturally he is a guy who is comfortable to always be involved in the game. Looking back, he's done very well when playing centrally in the past."
Maitland-Niles and Oxlade-Chamberlain did play together in a midfield three when Arsenal thrashed Southampton 5-0 in the FA Cup last weekend.
Barney Corkhill
