Arsenal's search for midfield reinforcements during the summer transfer window is well documented and it could very well resume in January.
Amid strong links to Leicester City's Youri Tielemans - and Lucas Paqueta prior to the Brazilian joining London rivals West Ham United from Lyon - it appeared that the profile of player that Gunners manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu were targeting was a more attack-minded midfielder to compete with Granit Xhaka in the left-sided '8' role.
However, Mohamed Elneny's injury a few days before the summer transfer window closed triggered a change of approach from the Arsenal pair as they pushed hard to sign Douglas Luiz - who can operate at the base of a midfield three - from Aston Villa on deadline day, but to no avail having seen as many as three offers rejected.
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It remains to be seen if the north London outfit go back in for the Brazil international when the transfer window reopens, but with Elneny's surprise return to training in mind then Arteta might hold off until next summer to bolster his options especially if Oleksandr Zinchenko can shake off his calf injury in the near future.
This could turn out to be a shrewd decision on the Spaniard's behalf as despite extending Elneny's deal at the end of last season and using Albert Sambi Lokonga in the 'six position' in the Europa League and during Thomas Partey's absence, the Gunners still need to find someone who can replicate what the Ghana international does as he doesn't have the best injury record.
Now, football.london have previously reported that a move for Palmeiras' Danilo could be on the cards in January, whilst Takehiro Tomiyasu's comments about his experience as a defensive midfielder have resurfaced: "When I was in Japan, I used to play as a No.6, I started playing as a full back three or four years ago in Bologna," he said. "But it doesn’t matter where I play. I’m happy to play anywhere on the pitch – as long as I help."
However, another internal solution may have emerged for Arsenal during the last round of Premier League fixtures as Ainsley Maitland-Niles' audition for the 'No.6' role in Southampton's defeat away at Crystal Palace has been discussed by supporters on Reddit.
Returning to the Saints matchday squad after being ineligible to face his parent club the weekend before, the 25-year-old was introduced to proceedings at Selhurst Park at the start of the second half and it was spotted by @jr1of1 on Twitter that he operating as a 'lone 6'.
What the 2.18-minute clip shows is Maitland-Niles comfortable in possession and perhaps most importantly his positioning was generally accurate when Southampton were defending as he made a few timely interceptions and tackles. With that said, judging by some of the responses on social media, many are keen for him to return and challenge Partey next season.
Of course, for Maitland-Niles to get this chance at Arsenal a major u-turn will have to be performed as he seemingly has no long-term future at the club. His contract expires at the end of the campaign - it's believed but not confirmed that a 12-month extension was triggered prior to joining the Saints on loan - and a lot may depend on what business is done next summer.
Although, Arteta hasn't exactly put him up for sale: "Hopefully he can get the minutes, he can pick up some momentum as well because we need him to play the games," the Spaniard said last month. "The future he has right now is his present, the most important thing for him to get his place and start to perform at the level that he can.
"That's something now for his manager to answer because he’s not with us. He needs to focus in the present which is the most important thing for his future."
It's still early days and Maitland-Niles will need to show on further occasions under Ralph Hasenhuttl this season that he can excel in the deeper midfield role if he's to salvage his Arsenal career and save the club millions of pounds in Arteta and Edu's search for a Partey replica.
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