Arsenal have enjoyed an unprecedented season, which although has faltered in recent weeks, could very well still culminate in the capture of the Premier League title.
Mikel Arteta has worked wonders to evolve what was a side that could barely achieve a top-four spot into true competitors for the unflappable Manchester City, and to fall at this final hurdle would be a heartbreaking experience, although one the Gunners can remain proud of.
At last, they seem to have returned to the pinnacle of English football, and the Spaniard will seek to keep them there for as long as possible.
Such steady growth into their current state was curated over years of careful planning, which saw big names pushed to the exit door in favour of a new model of player. The 41-year-old was not afraid to cull previous fan favourites if they did not subscribe to his ideals.
However, he was just as likely to outline a ruthlessness with those who were also deemed to be lacking the requisite quality to perform at the top level that he foresaw his side at.
The likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and David Luiz were all casualties of their dwindling abilities. Now, in this coming summer, the same could be set to happen to Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
How has Ainsley Maitland-Niles played out on loan?
It feels like the 25-year-old has always had something a bit special, but never quite seemed to pin down exactly the kind of footballer he wanted to be. At times an attacking midfielder, then shifted deeper, even the wing was his home for many years which gave credence to the occasion stint at wing-back too.
This London-born trickster is the epitome of the phrase: jack of all trades, master of none.
Having graduated from the club's prestigious Hale End academy in 2014, a whopping 11 years after he had first joined the club as a youngster, the £35k-per-week nomad has only mustered 132 total appearances for the north London outfit, scoring three and assisting eight.
Such a lack of mastery in a sole position has often led Maitland-Niles to be snubbed in favour of a bigger name, who has shone in one specific position all their careers. As such, he has endured four different loan spells throughout his career, three of which have come since Arteta's arrival.
That is certainly a damning indication of the midfielder's standing within the new manager's squad. It even led to a strange deadline day social media fiasco back in 2021, in which the 5 foot 10 star was refused a move to join Everton on loan only for him to post online pleading with the club to release him.
This led talkSPORT's Simon Jordon to launch into a scathing rant on the conduct of the wantaway ace: "They need to understand that they are the sum of a part and that part is a football club who they’re employees of and they need to do as they’re told.
"Why isn’t he in Arsenal’s team? Because the team stinks right now, so he has to look at himself as the reason why he isn’t in Arsenal’s team. His performances last year at West Brom didn’t pull up any trees, and secondly you are a professional footballer."
With a relationship not to be desired with the head coach, and an average 6.81 rating during his time on loan at rock-bottom Southampton, this summer should mark the end of a stuttering career in the captial for the boyhood Gooner.