ROME : Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles has joined AS Roma on loan for the rest of the season, the Italian club announced on Saturday.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who has made 132 appearances for his boyhood club in north London, will join up with compatriots Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham in Jose Mourinho’s squad.
“I am just delighted to be here and can’t wait to crack on. I want to help the team and show what I can do as a player,” England international Maitland-Niles said.
“Thank you to the fans for the support they have already shown me – I hope we can go on to do something great by the end of the season.”
Maitland-Niles struggled for game time at Arsenal in the first half of the season, making eight Premier League appearances – the last on Nov.20.
Mourinho will be hoping the wing-back can make an impact after an inconsistent start to the season has left Roma seventh after 20 games, six points outside the top four.
“With Maitland-Niles we are bringing to Roma a young player who fits well with the profile we were looking for to improve the squad and cover a number of different positions,” said Roma General Manager Tiago Pinto.
“When we spoke to Ainsley we were really struck by his enthusiasm about the prospect of joining our group and having the chance to work with Jose Mourinho.”
(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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