Ainsley Maitland-Niles: Ex-Arsenal midfielder agrees deal with Lyon

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has joined a Lyon team which finished seventh in Ligue 1 in the 2022-23 campaign

Former Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles has joined Ligue 1 club Lyon on a free transfer.

The 25-year-old, capped five times by England, left the Gunners in June after his contract expired having made 132 appearances.

Maitland-Niles has signed a four-year deal until 2027 with Lyon.

"If I had been told aged six that I would one day be at Lyon, I could never have imagined it. I had to seize this opportunity," he told Lyon's website.

Maitland-Niles was in the Arsenal team that won the FA Cup in the 2019-20 season but subsequently fell down the pecking order under Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

He made just eight Premier League appearances in the 2021-22 season before a six-month loan spell with Italian club Roma.

Maitland-Niles spent the whole of last season on loan at Southampton where he made 26 appearances.