Ainsley Maitland-Niles has set his sights on cracking the Arsenal first team after a loan spell with Ipswich last season.

Making his return in an Arsenal shirt, the midfielder was in the u23 side that lost 2-0 to Reading this week.

“It just felt great to be back out there on the pitch really,” AMN told Arsenal.com.

“It was good to get the first 90 minutes of the season after preseason but it felt good to play again.”

The 18-year-old has become more known for his mother’s antics than his footballing ability but he’s aiming to change that this season by breaking into the Arsenal first team.

“Obviously I want to play for the first team. That’s the goal, so that’s my main target really.”

AMN’s loan at Ipswich did not go too well, with the midfielder dropping out of the side after his mum allegedly left an X-rated message on manager, Mick McCarthy’s voicemail. This came after she was allegedly banned from Arsenal due to an assault allegation when she was arrested by police for ‘hitting a club negotiator’ (Dick Law).

He made 30 appearances for Ipswich in the league last season, but was dropped from the squad mid-March and was selected just twice for the rest of the season – once on the bench and once when he was subbed off at halftime.