Remember Ainsley Maitland-Niles? He’s scoring nonchalant bangers vs. PSG | OneFootball

We’ll start this article with an honest question. It’s okay, you’re amongst friends and there’s no right or wrong answer. When did you last think about Ainsley Maitland-Niles?

For many football fans, Maitland-Niles slipped off the radar after leaving Arsenal a few years ago. Considering he was hardly a first-team regular upon leaving the Emirates, even that may have slipped your attention.

He briefly popped back into consciousness during last season’s Europa League quarter-final between Manchester United and Lyon, before returning to anonymity.

There is no talk of Maitland-Niles returning to a top Premier League club or being included in England’s World Cup squad.

At 28, he’s not quite yesterday’s man, but he’s long been discarded by fans with shiny-new-toy syndrome.

This state of affairs is a crying shame, considering Maitland-Niles is out in Ligue 1 and busy scoring bangers against Champions League holders PSG.

Unfortunate to be trailing 2-1 at the start of the second half, Lyon gathered themselves with a spell of possession before Tyler Morton spotted an opportunity.

Deep inside his own half, Morton lifted his head and lofted a brilliant pass over the heads of a PSG defence that had gone walkies.

The former Liverpool midfielder had judged the situation perfectly, instantly taking three players out of the game and setting Maitland-Niles through on goal.

There was plenty still to do. Maitland-Niles was roughly 25 yards from goal and two PSG defenders were closing in rapidly.

This was not a time for considered thinking or doing the right thing. This was a time for impulse, instinct and acting out your wildest dreams.

Choosing fantasy over function, Maitland-Niles spotted goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier off his line and executed a superb lob.

The backpeddling Chevalier could only watch as the ball dropped over his head and into the goal. 2-2. Lyon’s ultras threatened to combust with joy as Maitland-Niles swaggered away nonchalantly.

A versatile midfielder who also spent a lot of his Arsenal career at full-back, Maitland-Niles played more than 100 times for the Gunners after making his debut aged just 17 in December 2014.

After a successful loan spell at Ipswich Town, the midfielder went on to play for Arsenal in each of the following six seasons, winning two Community Shields, playing in the 2019 Europa League final and lifting the FA Cup in 2020.

A few months later, he made his senior debut for the England national team, winning five caps under Gareth Southgate.

But after more loan spells, with West Bromwich Albion, Roma and Southampton, his Arsenal career came to an end in the summer of 2023.

“I’m very mature in my mind and I understand how football works. Sometimes it’s time to let go of a club that has been so dear to you and you had so many years with.

“So it was more of a process of trying to move on, both for my family and myself. Obviously, my contract expired anyway, so I had to find something that was concrete and solid and I felt like Lyon was the best fit.”

Since joining Lyon in 2023, Maitland-Niles has made 89 appearances for the Ligue 1 club, scoring four goals and providing 13 assists.

But surely there have been none as sweet or as aesthetically pleasing as this PSG scoop?

If Maitland-Niles continues to score bangers like this, he’s more than welcome to return to our consciousness on a more regular basis.