“He has to be able to convince me every day in training that he can compete at this level," Arteta said at the post-Liverpool press conference when asked to comment on Ainsley Maitland-Niles' future amid rumours linking him with a move away from the Emirates, as cited by Goal.
"Not once every three months but every three days. The way he is playing at the moment is showing me that he can do it.
"His mentality and the way he is going about every single detail about the preparation of a football game is much better than before.
"I am delighted and very happy for him because he is really changing a lot of things around him to become the player he can be.
"The best way to show a player how his manager thinks about him, is to give him the chance to play or not. And today in a final again he started.
"He played the 90 minutes, like he did against City in the semi-final and Chelsea as well in the final."
Maitland-Niles has been heavily linked with an exit from the Emirates after the end of the last season. The Gunners need cash to sign their targets and the 23-year-old is a bankable asset, with Wolverhampton reportedly keen on landing him.
Ainsley pulled the rabbit out of the hat with a Man of the Match performance against Liverpool as Arsenal won the Community Shield trophy.
This has supposedly resulted in the north London side making a U-turn on the midfielder. They are no longer planning to sell him.
The England international is one of the players who have benefitted the most from Mikel Arteta's arrival, if not in terms of playing time then in terms of football skills.
He has learned to play on the left but, most importantly, his attitude has significantly improved as the versatile man has been one of the best performers in the three games mentioned by Arteta.
Ainsley has shown he is ready to fight until his last breath for Arsenal as his physical qualities such as stamina and pace make him a crucial player in transition and on the counter.
