Arsenal full-back Ainsley Maitland-Niles could be “done for” under manager Mikel Arteta, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein.

The 22-year-old has only had a couple of brief substitute appearances since January, and explaining why on the Ornstein and Chapman podcast, the former BBC reporter said that the right back’s poor timekeeping, combined with his demand to play in midfield, may have caused a rift:

“Mikel Arteta isn’t receptive to players indicating where they want to play, they would play where they are told to play for the good of the team, and since then, I don’t know the exact conversation that has gone on, but he hasn’t been playing very much.”

“And then one of the suggestions I got is that he has been late for a couple of training sessions and certainly Arteta wouldn’t like that given the disciple and behaviour and respect culture is so important to him. And some people around Arsenal feel that he could be done for, Ainsley Maitland-Niles at Arsenal. We don’t know for a fact, I’m just reflecting suggestions I’ve heard.”

Whether Maitland-Niles will manage to get back into Arteta’s good books before the end of the season, we shall have to wait and see.

The Gunners boss hasn’t been afraid to ruffle a few feathers since arriving in January, having also reportedly had a falling out with Matteo Guendouzi.

However, reports in Italy suggest Maitland-Niles is attracting the interest of the likes of AC Milan and Inter Milan, and it remains to be seen if he is prepared to dig in at the Emirates and win his place back or opt to leave instead in the summer.