Myles Lewis-Skelly looks increasingly unlikely to be selected for England’s World Cup squad, but his recent involvement with the national team came ahead of his schedule anyway.
Alex Howell reports for the BBC that Myles Lewis-Skelly’s selection for England’s World Cup squad looks increasingly unlikely, adding that there may be discussions to be had about his career plan this summer.
Yet Howell also mentions that being a starting England left-back came ahead of schedule in Lewis-Skelly’s plan for his career, so the fact he seemed so likely to be involved at the World Cup at one stage was not what he’d expected to begin with.
Howell notes that Lewis-Skelly has still played enough with Arsenal this season that he’d be able to collect a Premier League medal in May, should the Gunners win the league. But he’s struggled to displace Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie in Mikel Arteta’s starting lineup.
Recent reports suggested that Lewis-Skelly has spoken directly with Arteta about his minutes, telling the manager of his frustrations at his lack of recent appearances. Arteta reportedly told the player to be patient in response.
Lewis-Skelly has played 26 times for Arsenal this season, which isn’t a bad total. But only 12 of those appearances were starts, and only one of those starts was in the Premier League.
It’s also true that the situation has been getting worse recently. Since the start of February, Lewis-Skelly has only appeared in the FA Cup game against Wigan – in which he unfortunately picked up a yellow-card suspension ruling him out of the following round against Mansfield.
The teenager was left on the bench in the League Cup semi-final, in Arsenal’s six Premier League games, and in their one Champions League game over that period. It seems unlikely he’ll be drafted into the starting lineup against Everton this afternoon.
Thomas Tuchel made it clear in November that Lewis-Skelly had been dropped from his England squad due to the way things were going for the teenager with his club.
Given that hasn’t changed, it’s no surprise to hear suggestions that the youngster remains an outsider for World Cup involvement.
There’s still time left in the season for Lewis-Skelly to get himself back on the plane across the Atlantic, but a lot of other dominoes would need to fall first.