Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly has been a revelation for Mikel Arteta this season.
The 18-year-old has made the inverted left-back role in the Gunners’ set-up his own, keeping out summer signing Riccardo Calafiori from the starting line-up and earning his first two senior international caps over the past week.
But things could be about to change for the youngster, ranked at no.40 in FourFourTwo’s list of the most exciting teenagers to watch this season last year.
Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly could be set for a fresh role
Lewis-Skelly has won plaudits this term for his fantastic ability in duels, his powerful running style and his infectious personality.
The Hale End academy graduate stepped in for Arsenal during an injury crisis and has been keeping not just Calafiori out of the first team but the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney and Jakub Kiwior. Issues with red cards early on in his career, however, have shown his lack of experience.
Just like Bukayo Saka before, Arteta has thrown Lewis-Skelly in at left-back knowing that his long-term position may lie elsewhere. The Camberwell native played in midfield throughout his youth career – and with transfer rumours circling that Arsenal could be in for another left-back, it suggests Lewis-Skelly might be set for a switch.
Tuttomercatoweb have revealed that Arsenal are tracking Andrea Cambiaso of Juventus, despite the wealth of options that Arteta has in that position. The 25-year-old is comfortable on both flanks and ambipedal but has played 26 times at left-back this season, as opposed to five on the other side.
Such a move could well be the making of Lewis-Skelly as a midfielder, with the youngster able to slot into the left-sided no.8 role in Arteta’s 4-3-3.
It seems as if Zinchenko, Tierney and Kiwior will all leave, leaving Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber as options at left-back, with Timber, Tomiyasu and Ben White on the right. In midfield, however, the likely exits of Thomas Partey and Jorginho open up the possibility of another player in the centre.
It’s therefore an option that Arsenal will head into next season with Declan Rice and Lewis-Skelly as the first- and second-choice left-sided central midfielders, with rumoured new arrival Martin Zubimendi the first-choice no.6, and Rice able to cover the deepest midfield position.
FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal are not focusing on signing a new no.8 this summer, with the positions of centre-forward and defensive midfield higher priorities.
This could be beneficial not just to Lewis-Skelly’s development as a midfielder, but also provide a clear pathway for fellow Hale Enders Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman to stake a claim in the centre for Arteta.
Cambiaso is worth €40 million, as per Transfermarkt.
