Arsenal outcast Ainsley Maitland-Niles completes loan transfer to Roma with no buy option included

AINSLEY MAITLAND-NILES has completed his loan transfer to Roma.

The midfielder has found his opportunities limited at Arsenal this season.

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Roma boss Jose Mourinho has been keen to bolster his ranks with the Gunners academy graduate.

And his side have been able to seal a loan deal until June.

The move is merely a straight loan transfer, with NO option to buy included.

Addressing speculation regarding the 24-year-old yesterday, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: "Ainsley came to me and explained the reasons why he thought that the best thing for him in his career right now is to move away.

"He believes that the opportunity to move to Rome and working under Jose is a really good one.

"We already had this conversation in the summer and we decided to keep him at the club and assess the situation in December, but with the amount of minutes that he has played, he’s entitled to that opportunity.

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"When a player feels that way and has a strong argument like he has, it’s very difficult to turn it away, so we decided to let him go and we wish him all the best."

Maitland-Niles has made 132 appearances for his boyhood club - starting the 2020 FA Cup final and earning his first five England caps in the months that followed.

But he has since fallen out of favour, starting just two Premier League games this term.

He spent the second half of last season on loan at West Brom.

Maitland-Niles' Arsenal contract runs until 2023.

Having spent north of £30million on Tammy Abraham in the summer, Roma will have to raise funds through player sales in order to afford a permanent move at a later date.

Maitland-Niles joins compatriots Abraham and Chris Smalling in the Italian capital.

Roma are currently seventh in the Serie A table - six points behind the top four.

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