Sport
Myles Lewis-Skelly might be Arsenal’s best left back option
There weren’t many positives for Arsenal to take out of the 0-0 home draw against Everton, but the performance of Myles Lewis-Skelly was one. For the second straight match after starting against Monaco in the Champions League, the 18-year-old caught the eye playing at left back for the Gunners even as they failed to make a breakthrough.
Lewis-Skelly looks extremely comfortable in Mikel Arteta’s team and is making a strong case to keep his place as Arsenal’s starting left back. The teenager is highly-rated at the Emirates Stadium and has given Arsenal another option at the very least. He has plenty to offer the North London outfit.
“He is one of our own,” said Arteta after Lewis-Skelly started his first Champions League match last week. “It’s just a joy to watch him, and a privilege to give the chance to somebody to start to change his career. He certainly took the chance. It’s great that we can trust them, that he can play in this environment and at this level. I was really happy with his performance.”
Against Monaco, Lewis-Skelly played an important role in Arsenal’s opening goal, stepping out of pressure to play a through ball for Gabriel Jesus who squared for Bukayo Saka to finish from close range. He gave the Gunners a foothold in possession and was sharp in a defensive sense too.
At just 18, Lewis-Skelly is already extremely accomplished. He is press resistant. He is comfortable on the ball. He can play line-breaking passes. He can push into central midfield. He has good positional intelligence. The Arsenal youngster has all the technical and physical attributes to succeed at the elite level.
Arteta has chopped and changed his left backs over the past two seasons. Oleksandr Zinchenko has fallen down the pecking order while Jakub Kiwior has been used at centre back most often this season after playing the second half of last season on the left side of the backline. Kieran Tierney is out of the picture entirely.
Riccardo Calafiori arrived at the Emirates Stadium from Bologna in the summer transfer window after impressing for Italy at Euro 2024. The 22-year-old hit the ground running this season and had given Arsenal another dimension with his runs forward from left back. Calafiori, however, picked up an injury and is still sidelined.
Even if Calafiori is available again soon, Lewis-Skelly is better in possession than his Italian teammate. He could be the key to unlocking Arsenal’s creativity higher up the pitch with Declan Rice someone who could benefit from having a teammate who cans lot into the midfield, allowing him the freedom to push forward.
This season is at risk of slipping through Arsenal’s fingers. The Gunners have dropped points in three of their last six league games, drawing matches against Chelsea, Fulham and Everton. Liverpool are setting a pace at the top of the Premier League table that Arsenal seem incapable of matching.
Many believe Arteta must enter the transfer market in January to bolster his squad and get Arsenal’s title challenge back on track. Alexander Isak has been linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium with Victor Osimhen potentially on the market after joining Galatasaray on loan from Napoli last summer.
In Lewis-Skelly, though, Arsenal have a homegrown solution to a problem that had been growing at left back in recent weeks with Calafiori still sidelined through injury. The 18-year-old looks the part. The Gunners have one of their own playing at left back and that could be his role for the foreseeable future.
