Barcelona considered Maitland-Niles before landing Dest/ Arteta ‘key’ to Englishman staying at Arsenal
Barcelona looked at Maitland-Niles
FC Barcelona did not have the most productive end to the transfer window, with the club having reportedly missed out on deals for both Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia.
However, they did manage to solve one of their main issues in the latter stages of the window.
With Nelson Semedo now on Wolves’ books, Barca were in real danger of having to face the first-half of the 2020/21 season without a natural right-back.
The Spanish powerhouse were linked with a number of stoppers to help fill this void, including Norwich’s Max Aarons.
However, it had long appeared to be Sergino Dest who was of the most interest to the Blaugrana.
One prior stumbling block for the La Liga giants, however, was that Champions League holders Bayern Munich also expressed a keen interest in the full-back.
And it was this interest, according to Fabrizio Romano, which, in turn, saw the Spaniards explore alternative options.
One such option? Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Speaking on the latest edition of his Here We Go podcast, Romano stated:
Barcelona obviously were considering other opportunities and between the other opportunities, they also had the name of Maitland- Niles in the list.
Then they signed Sergino Dest, so they had a good chance to sign him and congrats to Barca because he’s a great player.
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal looks on prior to the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Arsenal FC at Vitality Stadium on December 26, 2019 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images )
Arteta key to Maitland-Niles staying put
Barca were not the first club to be linked with Maitland-Niles this past summer.
Wolves were also hotly tipped to swoop for the versatile Englishman back in August/September.
As such, with both clubs attractive potential landing spots, and Maitland-Niles not guaranteed of a starting berth in north London, Arsenal’s fans may have actually been surprised that their side managed to keep hold of the 23-year-old.
Well, Romano also provided some insight into how the Gunners convinced Maitland-Niles to stay put, revealing that Mikel Arteta proved key:
But Maitland Niels will stay obviously with Arsenal and I have to say that I see him like an important player for the future, not just for Arsenal, but also for England. So congrats to Arsenal because it’s not easy to say to Barcelona no, no the players stays here. So also, congrats to Mikel Arteta because he’s been key to keep the player.
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@podcastherewego: https://t.co/wIlgEgdCFV
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 7, 2020
See also: England vs Wales betting tips: International friendly preview, predictions & odds
Scotland vs Israel betting tips: Euro 2020 playoff preview, predictions & odds
This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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1 | Leicester City FC | 19 | 14 | 38 |
2 | Manchester United FC | 18 | 10 | 37 |
3 | Manchester City FC | 17 | 16 | 35 |
4 | Liverpool FC | 18 | 16 | 34 |
5 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
6 | Everton FC | 17 | 7 | 32 |
7 | West Ham United FC | 19 | 5 | 32 |
8 | Chelsea FC | 19 | 10 | 29 |
9 | Southampton FC | 18 | 5 | 29 |
10 | Arsenal FC | 19 | 4 | 27 |
11 | Aston Villa FC | 15 | 13 | 26 |
12 | Leeds United | 18 | -4 | 23 |
13 | Crystal Palace FC | 19 | -11 | 23 |
14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 19 | -8 | 22 |
15 | Newcastle United FC | 18 | -12 | 19 |
16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
17 | Burnley FC | 17 | -13 | 16 |
18 | Fulham FC | 17 | -11 | 12 |
19 | West Bromwich Albion | 19 | -28 | 11 |
20 | Sheffield United FC | 19 | -22 | 5 |
Player | Team | Goals |
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Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 6 |
Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
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Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 6 |
Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
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Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 9 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |