Mikel Arteta appears to have hinted that he has made a mistake over not playing Manchester United target Myles Lewis-Skelly more this season, after the Arsenal teenager put in a strong display as a central midfielder in his side’s 3-0 rout of Fulham on Saturday.
The Gunners heaped the pressure back on Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title after opening up a six-point gap on their nearest rivals, while also boosting their goal difference significantly in the process.
Despite City still having two games in hand, Arsenal can at least now focus on the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
Arteta at least opted to make changes to what has looked a tired team in recent weeks, with Lewis-Skelly making his first start in central midfield alongside Declan Rice.
After making a stunning breakthrough last season as a makeshift left-back, earning England recognition in the process, the 19-year-old has really struggled for game time this term.
The arrival of Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen, who has shared the left-back role with Riccardo Calafiori, has largely left Lewis-Skelly watching on from the bench, leading to strong interest from Man Utd in a summer swoop.
However, while Martin Zubimendi’s summer signing has largely been deemed a success, the Spaniard has looked fatigued for a number of weeks, leading to Lewis-Skelly getting the nod in midfield against the Cottagers.
And, after watching the teenager impress against a decent Fulham side still battling for Europe, Arteta admitted he may have made an error in holding back a player who may now not end up on the market, in a blow to Man Utd.
“He fully deserves it,” said the Arsenal manager reflecting on Lewis-Skelly’s performance. “I’ve been tough on him.
“He had a spectacular season last year when he jumped into the first team. He had some difficult moments after that, but he stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we wanted to do, and I knew he was ready.
“He’s been showing in training every day the opportunities that he had to play. He’s done it and today he really stepped up and I thought he had an incredible performance.”
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Asked as to why it had taken him so long to give Lewis-Skelly an opportunity to fully showcase his talent in midfield, he added: “Because probably I don’t have a clue and maybe I should have done it earlier, I don’t know.
“But I have to do things when I believe that the 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’s the first time.
“It was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen, if he wasn’t this great, we would have lost the game.
“How do you play a kid at this age, in this scenario, in a position that he hasn’t played all season? I knew that but I had the feeling that it was the right game for him.”
While Lewis-Skelly was able to finally play his part in a team still chasing an historic double, he may also have put himself in the shop window further – especially as Arteta stopped short of outright saying that he is not for sale.
Indeed, reports last month claimed Arsenal were looking to net a combined total of £100million for Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, who has spent the second half of the season out on loan at French outfit Marseille.
Bong Roberie
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