I left Arteta’s Arsenal to play under Allardyce – the training was a surprise

Former Arsenal player Ainsley Maitland-Niles talked candidly about his initial astonishment at training under Sam Allardyce after joining West Brom on loan in 2021 and departing from Mikel Arteta’s squad.

The 26-year-old, who is currently playing regularly for Lyon in Ligue 1, joined the relegation-threatened team for the last four months of the season in search of regular playing time. Allardyce did not help West Brom finish higher than 19th in the Premier League.

But under Allardyce’s leadership, Maitland-Niles developed a fresh outlook on the game of football. “That was a shock at first – for the first couple of days, I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen stuff like this before,'” he laughs in an interview with The Athletic. “But he’s a decent man, and he wants the best for his team. He certainly approaches it in a different way.

Before relocating to France, where he signed a four-year contract with Lyon last summer, ending his 20-year affiliation with Arsenal that started when he was just six years old, Maitland-Niles had four loan stints during his career, the Daily Star reports. His time at West Brom was the second of those stints.

The Englishman has stated his continuous devotion for his boyhood club, Arsenal, even after leaving the north Londoners. He revealed that he is cheering for Arsenal to beat Manchester City in the quest for the Premier League title this season.

“I’ll always treasure that,” he said. “I still support and watch out for them; it’s my boyhood club.” This year, I’m hoping they’ll win the league. I hope they take it on. I’m not the least bit envious.

“It’s a tremendous thing to have grown up in such a great club, the way they taught us to play football and how to read the game throughout the years,” Maitland-Niles continued, thinking back on his childhood at Arsenal.

Though he encountered difficulties during loan spells that resulted in the relegation of two of his temporary teams, Maitland-Niles feels these experiences have helped to shape his character and have been crucial to his growth.

It’s challenging, but that’s what shapes character. Nobody wants to experience that, but regrettably, I did, and many other players did as well.It simply assisted me in gaining perspective in my life,” he said.

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