Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has explained allowing Ainsley Maitland-Niles to leave on-loan to Roma.

While nothing has been officially confirmed, Arteta was happy to speak to reporters about the proposed deal.

"Ainsley came to me and explained the reasons why he thought that the best thing for him in his career right now is to move away," Arteta said.

"He believes that the opportunity to move to Rome and working under Jose is a really good one. We already had this conversation in the summer and we decided to keep him at the club and assess the situation in December, but with the amount of minutes that he has played, he's entitled to that opportunity.

"When a player feels that way and has a strong argument like he has, it's very difficult to turn it away, so we decided to let him go and we wish him all the best."