Arsenal loanee's Ainsley Maitland-Niles exiled at Ipswich Town

 

Arsenal loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles was not included in Ipswich Town’s matchday squad since his mother and agent was believed to have left boss Mick McCarthy an X-rated voicemail. The 18-year-old, who is on a season-long loan from the Barclays Premier League club, has been left in limbo at Portman Road.

It was said that his exile at Ipswich came after his mother, Jule, attacked McCarthy over his decision to not let her son attend an England kit launch last month following an invite from the Football Association. The message was apparently laden with expletives and made it clear in no uncertain terms that she wanted her son to attend.

The Ipswich manager had told Maitland-Niles to miss the FA event because he wanted the winger to prepare for their upcoming match with his team-mates. It is normal policy for clubs not to allow players to attend any evening events two days before a match. Maitland-Niles has played 31 games in the Championship this season but his last inclusion in the matchday squad was against Cardiff City on March 12. He was then dropped for their game against Blackburn Rovers on March 15, and the starlet has subsequently missed games against Rotherham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Charlton Athletic.

This is not the first time that his mother has had a negative impact on her son’s career, which is only just getting off the ground.  Arsenal banned Niles after she confronted chief negotiator, Dick Law, and threatened to drag her son off the pitch at their training base in April 2015. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting two people at the Barclays Premier League club’s training ground in March, before being released without charge. It was reported that a member of Arsene Wenger’s ground staff and another man accused her of striking them, while Law was apparently also hit during the altercation.

No further action was taken by police but Arsenal told her not to return. Yet despite the ban, Niles arrived at the London Colney base to watch her son face Aston Villa in an Under-21 fixture. She was then accused of threatening to run on to the pitch and drag her son away. Police were called again and she received a warning.

Maitland-Niles made his professional debut for Arsenal at the age of 17 years and 102 days in the Champions League against Galatasaray in December 2014, becoming the second-youngest player to represent the club in the history of the competition.