How Ainsley Maitland-Niles reacted after winning 'historic' Arsenal loan battle vs Reiss Nelson
The first-ever UEFA Europa Conference League final between AS Roma and Feyenoord had somewhat of an Arsenal feel to it with two loanees pitted against each other whilst a former player and a summer transfer target also featured.
In the end, it was Ainsley Maitland-Niles - who was an unused substitute on Wednesday night - celebrating thanks to Nicolo Zaniolo's first-half strike which separated the two teams and allowed Jose Mourinho to make history by becoming only the second manager to win five European titles.
But as one Gunners loanee experienced the highs of winning a major trophy, it was the opposite end of the spectrum for Reiss Nelson who was understandably crestfallen at the final whistle as he collected his runners-up medal and looked on as Tammy Abraham led Roma's celebrations.
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With Arsenal allowing a number of players to leave on loan this season, the fact some joined a club involved in a European competition meant there were likely to be some interesting battles along the way.
One of which came in the Europa Conference League semi-final as Nelson's Feyenoord overcame William Saliba and Matteo Guendouzi's Marseille with the winger claiming an assist for Luis Sinisterra to make it 2-0 after just 20 minutes played in the first-leg with a pass that was described as 'perfect' by the BT Sport commentary team.
And as Maitland-Niles' Roma beat Leicester City to qualify for the first-ever final in the competition, it set up the last Arsenal loan battle of the season nicely. Of course, there could only be one winner in terms of lifting the trophy and that honour went to the versatile midfielder.
As expected, once the