We’re not going to lie to you, but the whole Ainsley Maitland-Niles saga, with AS Roma wanting to bring in the Arsenal player, is very reminiscent of the Granit Xhaka mess last summer.
Things are at a similar stage, in that the player has agreed to the move, but the two clubs are quibbling over a few million, with the Italians wanting to pay €10m for him while the Gunners want €15m.
There’s also the details about how the option to buy becomes permanent that need ironing out, but one thing is certain: Arsenal are happy to see him leave.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who explain that, as things stand, Maitland-Niles is ‘waiting to know when and how he will eventually be able to move to Rome’, as the Gunners ‘have chosen to let him go’ and ‘no longer bet on him’.
Over at Corriere dello Sport, it’s much of the same, but they state that unlike the Xhaka situation, Tiago Pinto ‘is to get to the bottom this time’, meaning to seal the deal.
The agreement with Maitland-Niles is there, and it’s now just a matter of pleasing Arsenal, which tends to be tougher than first thought.
