Ainsley Cory Maitland-Niles (born 29 August 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or right-back for Ligue 1 club Lyon.

[11] On 9 December 2014, Maitland-Niles made his professional debut at the age of 17 years and 102 days in a UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray, replacing Aaron Ramsey at half time in an eventual 4–1 win for Arsenal.

[16] Since making his Ipswich Town debut, Maitland-Niles' performances immediately made an impact and was praised by manager Mick McCarthy, describing him as "outstanding".

[24] On his return to Arsenal the following season, Maitland-Niles started a match away at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup at right-back.

[27] Maitland-Niles established himself as a regular first-team player in Arsène Wenger's final season as manager of the club, making 28 total appearances in all competitions.

[29] After his return from his leg break, and a season-ending injury for Héctor Bellerín, Maitland-Niles established himself as Emery's starting right-back for the remainder of the season.

[31] With Bellerín still working his way back from injury, Maitland-Niles kept his place as Arsenal's starting right-back for the opening games of the 2019–20 Premier League.

[36] Maitland-Niles later struggled to secure a place in Mikel Arteta's first team, with interest coming from West Brom and Southampton to sign him on loan.

[37][38] On 1 February 2021, Maitland-Niles joined fellow Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on a loan deal until the end of the season.

[41] The potential move fell through however, and on 30 August 2021, Maitland-Niles publicly expressed his desire to leave the club via social media, stating that he wished to go where he was "wanted" and where he was going to play.

[60] On 29 August 2020, Maitland-Niles was called up to the England senior squad by Gareth Southgate for the UEFA Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark.

"[64] In December 2017, his then-Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, praised Maitland-Niles as "a good defender", saying that "he has that sense of one against one" and "has very quick recovery runs.

"[65] Maitland-Niles was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries All or Nothing: Arsenal, which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season.