All four of the Arsenal players that were transfer listed back in 2020 have now departed the club following Ainsley Maitlaind-Niles exiting at the end of his Gunners contract.
Three years ago, Maitland-Niles, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Sokratis were all deemed surplus to requirements by those at the top of the Gunners hierarchy. However, manager Mikel Arteta, less than a year into his tenure at this point, was reportedly not convinced that all of the aforementioned quartet should leave the club.
While Guendouzi, Torreira and Sokratis all eventually left, the Spaniard still harboured hope for Maitland-Niles, who at that time had only recently helped inspire Arsenal to FA Cup glory. The Gunners academy graduate featured and shone in the thrilling 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea in the final.
Arteta had made clear to both the player and the board that he did not want Maitland-Niles to leave, but it was widely believed the club were willing to accept a bid for the England international if their asking price was met.
Thankfully for Arteta, no bid of the sort came in and as a result, Maitland-Niles remained in north London until the expiration of his contract this month.
That's not to suggest he played a big part in proceedings for the Gunners at that time, in fact, it was quite the opposite.
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Between the FA Cup triumph of 2020 and his departure this summer, Maitland-Niles was sent on three separate loan spells.
The first came at West Brom, where he failed to keep the Baggies in the Premier League during the second-half of the 2020/21 campaign.
The second came at AS Roma, who won the Europa Conference League while Maitland-Niles was at the club but in truth, he'd have liked to have contributed more to the cause.
And for the third and final loan, Maitland-Niles was shipped off to Southampton, where he suffered the second relegation of his career and failed to put in the kind of performances that would have caught Arteta's attention back at Arsenal.
It is for that reason that the 25-year-old currently finds himself without a club, though he has had his fair share of offers, with West Ham currently the side thought to be pushing hardest to land Maitland-Niles' signature.
Whether the Hammers reach an agreement with the ex-Arsenal man remains to be seen, but the decline Maitland-Niles' career has suffered since the Gunners board first transfer listed him suggests maybe Arteta missed a trick by not cashing in while his stock was high.
