Arsenal outcast ‘preferred’ deadline day move to Newcastle United over Premier League rivals

Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles was reportedly keen on a move to Newcastle United prior to his loan switch to Premier League rivals Southampton.

The versatile Gunners midfielder returned to the Emirates Stadium after spending the second half of last season with Serie A club Roma.

With his route into Mikel Arteta’s side has been blocked by the form of the likes of Martin Odegaard and recent signing Oleksandr Zinchenko, Maitland-Niles was allowed to seek another temporary move away from North London.

Newcastle were believed to have registered their interest in the five-times capped England international as they looked to add a versatile option to Eddie Howe’s squad ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline.

The Telegraph have revealed Maitland-Niles was keen to make the move to Tyneside but state Arsenal are one of a number of Premier League clubs that refused to entertain offers for their players from the Magpies.

Chelsea, Everton, Leeds United and Aston Villa are also mentioned in the article and United manager Eddie Howe hinted at the resistance to do business in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s home draw with Crystal Palace.

He said: “That was definitely something we felt in the market. Domestic clubs didn’t want to be seen to be helping us. We’ll have to take that, that is part of where we are at the moment.

“We have certainly found there is no-one there ready to do us a favour. It’s the narrative regarding us that has changed. If there is anything domestically, teams will put their price up if it is Newcastle.

“There is a real feeling of us internally knowing we are against everybody else. That is healthy and I would embrace that.”

Maitland-Niles has now joined Southampton on a season-long loan deal and made his debut in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.