Myles Lewis-Skelly was delighted with the chance to play back in his natural midfield role on Saturday, and Paul Merson believes he’s in contention to play there against Atletico Madrid.
Myles Lewis-Skelly broke through the academy ranks at Arsenal as a midfield player, but he ended up playing most of his first couple of seasons in senior football at left-back.
The teenager still had chances to tuck into midfield from that role, but he didn’t have the same freedom to roam the middle of the park that he’d had as a young player.
So Saturday’s game was a rare opportunity, with Mikel Arteta trusting the youngster to play as a midfielder against Fulham. It certainly went well, with Arsenal winning 3-0, and Lewis-Skelly was clearly very pleased afterwards.
“Honestly, I was buzzing,” Lewis-Skelly admitted afterwards. “Being back in that midfield, getting the trust from the gaffer and the players again, just allows me to play my game and play it simple but also be effective, which was really good today.
“It’s hugely important for me to set that tone. When you’re in midfield, there’s a certain right you have to attain, which is to set the tone, set the engine of the team going. I thought I did a good job of that today.”
Lewis-Skelly was also grateful to the Arsenal fans, who chanted his name on multiple occasions throughout the match.
“These are my people, so I’m just so grateful to them,” Lewis-Skelly said. “They’re our top player, they give us so much energy and we’re so grateful for them.”
The question now is whether Lewis-Skelly will continue to get chances in midfield, starting with Tuesday’s game at home to Atletico Madrid.
Paul Merson pointed out to Sky Sports that it will be a very different game to the Fulham match, but suggested it’s something Arteta needs to think about now.
“It’s a different kind of game, Fulham to Atletico Madrid,” Merson said. “[But] he’s given Mikel a headache, a major, major headache. Because, as I said before, he gives you that energy, he lifted everybody. Played on the front foot, he got close to people.
“I just find [Zubimendi] has been chasing the game recently. But I am a big fan of Zubimendi.”
It’s a good headache to have ahead of a big game, and perhaps Arteta will end up opting for experience in such a pivotal match. But at the very least, Lewis-Skelly has shown he’s an option from the bench on Tuesday, and an option for the starting lineup for the remainder of the season.
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