Myles Lewis-Skelly is one of Arsenal’s most exciting young players, but the versatile star may be set for a change within Mikel Arteta’s side
Myles Lewis-Skelly believes he will soon be featuring more regularly in midfield for Arsenal. The 19-year-old first broke out onto the scene as a silky left-back who can step into the midfield and join attacks.
When he scored on his England debut, he did so as a full-back, which suggested that would be his place for the future. However, with Mikel Arteta preferring Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie at left-back, Lewis-Skelly had few opportunities.
Instead, Arteta deployed him as a central midfielder when the Gunners overcame Fulham 3-0 at the Emirates. He proved to be one of the best players on the pitch.
Arteta even jokingly admitted he made a mistake not trying Lewis-Skelly in the position earlier. With the Gunners preparing to face Paris Saint-Germain in this weekend’s Champions League final, Lewis-Skelly offered a prediction on his future.
When asked by Gary Neville and Ian Wright if he believes he will be more of a midfielder for the Gunners, Lewis-Skelly quickly replied: “I believe so. I believe so.”
The teenager explained: “I was originally training in midfield for a couple of months around December to April. That period I was learning my craft and learning my position.
“For me, it was natural for me as a young player because it was where I grew up playing, in midfield. It was just to refine the smaller details in that position in that team, learning what different players like, when I am in different areas of the pitch.”
He added: “It felt natural, going back in there. It felt like this is where I belong. It was not a ‘What’s going on here’ it felt natural to me.”
All eyes will be on this weekend’s Champions League final and Arteta’s starting XI. Lewis-Skelly will be competing with Martin Zubimendi for the position alongside Declan Rice in the middle of the park.
Considering Arteta’s glowing praise for the youngster after the win over Fulham, he may have a good chance of being given the nod to start against the Parisians. The Arsenal boss, after the win over the Cottagers, said: “Maybe I should have done it earlier, I don’t know.
“But I have to do things when I believe a player is ready, the team is ready and the opponent is the right one to play with him in that position. We’ve done it today, it was the first time. It was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen.
“If it works it’s great, if we’d have lost the game – ‘How do you play a kid at this age in this scenario in a position he hasn’t played?’ I knew that but I had the feeling it was the right game for him.”
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