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Why I allowed him to Join Mourinho – Arteta Opens Up on Arsenal star’s exit

Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta has opened up on the reason behind Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ move to Roma to play under Jose Mourinho.

He said the player relished the opportunity to play under Mourinho and wanted to leave Arsenal due to lack of playing time.

Maitland-Niles struggled for regular playing time at the Emirates under Arteta

The player was not allowed to join Everton on loan last summer, forcing him to vent his frustrations on social media.

“Ainsley came to me and explained the reasons why he thought the best thing for him and his career was to move away,” said Arteta on Friday.

“He felt the opportunity to go to Rome and work with Jose was a good one.

“Being fair with the amount of minutes that he’s played he was entitled to that opportunity. We wish him the best.

“We’re very short at the moment [in midfield], but this shouldn’t be the only reason for keeping a player.

“Ainsley was very straight with me and I understood the situation. Obviously, we’re going to move and look for options as we’re very short there.”

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