Lyon confirm signing former Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles | OneFootball

Olympique Lyonnais have confirmed signing former Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles on a four-year contract.

The 25-year-old came through the Gunners’ youth academy, making his competitive debut for the club in 2014 aged 17.

He made 132 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal, scoring three goals.

Maitland-Niles was never a regular at Arsenal but was part of their team that won the FA Cup in the 2019-20 campaign.

That was the season when he made 32 appearances in all competitions including 20 in the Premier League.

However, his career went downhill after falling down the pecking order under manager Mikel Arteta.

Maitland-Niles was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion and Roma, before spending last season at Southampton.

He made 22 Premier League appearances but couldn’t prevent them from being relegated to the Championship.

The Gunners decided not to renew his contract, and he became one of 10 players to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer.

The England international will now hope to resurrect his career at Lyon who finished seventh in the Ligue 1 table last season.

Maitland-Niles has a lot to offer at the top level of football. He mainly plays in midfield but can also be deployed as a right-back.