There might be many reasons that a player can give for wanting to leave, but a proper fan can never get upset if someone wants to leave in search of regular first team football.
The situation with Ainsley Maitland-Niles has rumbled on all summer, with some reports linking him with an exit even though he’s clearly part of Mikel Arteta’s first team plans.
His problem has been that he’s too versatile and he ends up filling in for various players without establishing himself as a starter in one position, and there’s no sign that next season will offer anything different.
He also made his England debut this week so obviously he’s going to want to maintain his place in the squad, so The Daily Mail are reporting that he’s now considering leaving the club to boost those international ambitions.
READ MORE: Another blow to Arsenal’s hopes of adding to their midfield as one word answer shuts down swap rumours
He’s weighing up the possibility of leaving because it’s likely to give him a chance to play more first team football, and Wolves are touted as the likely destination after they had a bid rejected earlier this summer.
They go on to say that it would be a heart-breaking decision for him and he might not necessarily want to leave, but he realises it’s something he might have to do to get the most out of his career.
Things could work out differently if he’s assured of regular football and presented with a new contract, but there’s no sign of that just now so it could even depend on how things work out in the first few games of the season.
Losing a talented youngster is always painful and it would be great to see him stay and establish himself, but if he remains as nothing more than a fringe player then you can’t blame him for leaving either.