Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was coy about Ainsley Maitland-Niles' future on Friday.
The midfielder is on-loan with weekend opponents Southampton.
Arteta said, "Obviously, he won't be able to play against us and as you said, he hasn't played that much, but hopefully, he can get the minutes and can pick up some momentum as well, because we need him to play the games.
"His future that he has right now is the present. The most important thing is for him to get in there, get his place and start to perform at the level that he can.
"It's something for his manager now to provide the answer because he's not with us. He needs to focus on the present which is the most important thing for his future."
