'Mikel Arteta is not afraid' - Struggling Man Utd star Kobbie Mainoo told Arsenal is perfect place to get his career back on track

After clocking only 138 minutes on the pitch in the Premier League this season under Amorim, Mainoo has been strongly linked with a move away from United in the January transfer window. A loan exit has been mooted for Mainoo, which would provide him with an opportunity to impress Thomas Tuchel before the German coach picks his final England squad for the 2026 World Cup in North America. 

Several clubs have been linked with a move for the English midfielder, including Serie A champions Napoli and West Ham, however, no concrete offer has been made yet. 

Former Arsenal star Stefan Schwarz has advised Mainoo to join Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta deemed to be the ideal manager to bring the best out of him. Schwarz told Hajper: "Arsenal have the best conditions for young players. And they have a manager in Mikel Arteta that is not afraid to give responsibility to them and give them opportunities when he feels they are ready. It's just about preparing them in the best way and that's what Arsenal have done very well the last couple of years."

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One more aspect from the Arsenal transfer that could benefit Mainoo is playing alongside England team-mate Declan Rice in the Gunners' midfield. Rice is a natural leader and his experience and guidance could help Mainoo improve his form.

Lavishing praise on Rice, Schwarz added: "Declan Rice is a very good player. I like him a lot. He's a good leader. He can play in different positions, he's versatile and so solid. You know what you get from him every week. His delivery is unbelievable, and he has a great work rate and ethic. He is one of the leaders at Arsenal. He rarely gets injured, and he's a good character. He looks out for and takes care of his team-mates. He is also very good when talking to the media, which is very important and is an understated skill. He’s so important to Arsenal. If he was to get injured it would be a huge setback, they could cope in the short term thanks to the size of the squad but losing him for a couple of games wouldn't be a problem."

United boss Amorim explained earlier this month why he has not been providing Mainoo with more game time, telling reporters: "We need to go to Europe because of everything. Our club needs to be in Europe, it’s hard to have a very, very good squad. Imagine for me to have Mainoo with that (many) minutes that he’s playing, he needs more games for me to make a rotation because, with one game (a week), it’s really hard. I have to take one of the guys that is playing to put another. When you have more games, you can divide, you can manage the group in a different way. We are trying to use the time that we have to train to be a better team, we need to be prepared in the future to have European games. But the target doesn’t change. We have to go to Europe. To be in the top four is really hard for our moment, but we never know, we just need to focus on winning the next one."

Mainoo will hope to feature when United take on Everton in the Premier League this weekend.