West Bromwich Albion sign Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan from Arsenal

West Bromwich Albion have signed Arsenal's Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan for the remainder of the season.

The versatile 23-year-old, who was also reportedly wanted by Leicester City and Southampton, found first-team opportunities hard to come by under Mikel Arteta during the first half of the season.

Maitland-Niles has turned out 11 times in the top flight so far, but he only started five of those matches for Arsenal and was an unused substitute against Southampton and Manchester United.

The England international is the fourth Arsenal player to be loaned out after Sead Kolasinac, William Saliba and Matt Smith all left temporarily, and the Gunners have also waved goodbye to Mesut Ozil, Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi after terminating their contracts in the January window.

Speaking to the official Arsenal website, Arteta said: "Ainsley is a very talented player and we are proud of his hard work and development with us. This decision to go on loan to West Bromwich Albion for the rest of this season is to support Ainsley and his growth further.

"He will be working at a very good club in the Premier League and we all wish him the best of luck during his time at the Hawthorns."

Maitland-Niles joins West Brom as he hopes to come into Gareth Southgate's thinking for a place in England's Euros squad, with his desire to play in midfield reportedly meaning that Leicester and Southampton were not viable options for him.

The England international has made 121 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions after progressing through the youth ranks.