Former Chelsea and Marseille striker Tony Cascarino has backed Arsenal wingback Ainsley Maitland-Niles to emulate Gareth Bale.

The Welshman started his career as a fullback before moving forward, and watching Maitland-Niles play against Napoli last week, Cascarino said he sees a similar thing happening with the 21-year-old:

“I saw the next Gareth Bale on Thursday — and he was wearing an Arsenal shirt. Sorry, Spurs fans.”

“Ainsley Maitland-Niles is a full back who is not really a full back, just like Bale when he joined Tottenham in 2007. He has fierce pace and gets in great positions to score and create chances.”

It’s a bold prediction from Cascarino. Bale moved pretty quickly from a flawed left-back into a pacey, prolific winger at Tottenham so Maitland-Niles has his work cut out.

There’s no doubt that the Gunners star possesses a lot of talent, but it remains to be seen what position that potential will be realised in.

After coming through the youth system as a midfielder, both Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery have opted to use him as a fullback.

Some, like Cascarino, say he’s still being played out of position but only a small fraction of his 63 senior appearances have come in midfield. It remains to be seen whether we’ll start seeing him play further up the pitch.