Maitland-Niles focused on helping Roma up the table

The loan arrival from Arsenal, who made his debut in the weekend defeat against Juventus, answered questions about his ambitions for his time in the Italian capital.

Here is everything the England international had to say...

Given the circumstances of your move here, what are your ambitions for your long-term future?

“Right now I am just focused on myself and the club. Me being here and getting to the highest point on the table we can. We want to reach the Champions League places. I am not focused on my contract situation and where I am going to be [in the future] – I am focused on where I am and what I can do at this club.”

You saw Roma at its best and its worst at the weekend, with a great performance against Juventus undone by seven minutes in which the side conceded three goals. What did you make of it all?

"Having ups and downs are part of football. There were seven minutes where we lost focus and that cost us. So if we can change our mindsets, and concentrate for an extra seven minutes, beyond the 90, then we will become a team that wins plenty of games. So it is about changing that mindset and becoming a team that focuses throughout the 90 minutes."

Coming from the Premier League, what’s your perception of Serie A?

“It’s a great league. It’s a little different, it’s more tactical and more technical over here. You have to be aware at all times – like in the previous game we had [against Juventus], you need ultimate focus on the pitch at all times.”

After Jose Mourinho bemoaned the issue at the weekend, do you think you and the other new arrivals, like Sergio Oliveira, can help bring a winning mentality to this squad?

“Yes, definitely. I believe me and Sergio have the ability and the mindset and the willingness to help the rest of the team around us start winning games. That’s what football is about. That is what the manager wants, and so do the players. We want to win games – if we are not winning games then we are not happy. So we want to do everything we can to get back to winning and being happy.”

Did the English players help convince you to come here? And what language do you speak out on the pitch, is it Italian or English?

“I knew Tammy before I came here. Chris not so much, we’ve become closer since I’ve been here. On the pitch, speaking Italian, ultimately I understand football – so if the manager is speaking Italian for the whole team then I can understand bits because I understand football and I know how it is supposed to be played. So there are bits where Claudio does help me, but I also understand plenty of what is being said and being asked of us.”

What’s your biggest strength, in your opinion, and what do you think you still need to work on?

“I think I have multiple abilities. I can run, I have got good energy on the pitch, I’m fast and strong and have good technical ability. I understand the game very well. So, for me, it’s about trying to implement that in every game so it becomes normal for me to play 9/10 every week. That’s what I need to work on and build upon, to have a 9/10 performance every week rather than an average performance, which would be a 6 or a 7.

“So the thing I need to improve on is making sure the standard of my performances is always high, and making sure every action [on the pitch] is done with a clear intent and purpose behind it.”

How has training been for you so far this week?

“My first days have been … there were a lot of things to do and to get done. I had one day of training before the game [against Juventus], which I wanted to play in. That’s why I came here, to play in games like that.

“Since then the relationship with my teammates and the coach has got a lot stronger, we speak a lot more and we understand each other a lot better now. I think from me playing in that game the coach has seen my capabilities and my qualities and now he has a better idea of how to use me in the games to come.”