Declan Rice earned a majority of the plaudits after Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final and deservedly so, having scored two of the best free-kicks one is likely to see in a long time.
Thierry Henry lauded Rice’s performance against Real Madrid as he perhaps had his best game in a Gunners shirt as an advanced midfielder.
The Arsenal hero was everywhere — making darting runs into the box, drifting out wide to receive the ball and getting stuck in when required.
But Myles Lewis-Skelly was Arsenal’s standout player against Real Madrid based on his all-round display.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was Arsenal’s best player vs Real Madrid in Champions League quarter-final
As Declan Rice was tasked to play further up the pitch for Arsenal against Real Madrid, Lewis-Skelly was effectively deployed in the former West Ham United ace’s sitting midfield position when the hosts had the ball.
Rice believes Lewis-Skelly’s future lies in midfield and his prediction manifested itself as he ran the show — playing an especially important role in build-up as he broke the lines, fed the runners and helped the North Londoners gain the ascendancy during the blockbuster clash from the get-go.
It seemed like every time Real Madrid tried to force Lewis-Skelly into making a mistake, their efforts were rendered futile as he drove past the player in question and found his Arsenal teammates such as Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo running in behind the visitors’ defence.
Jamie Carragher likened Lewis-Skelly to Wayne Rooney and described him as “spectacular” as he oozes the same self-belief the retired forward did — especially taking into account that he managed to tame a winger of Rodrygo’s calibre on the night as well.
The numbers don’t lie and exemplify how well-rounded the 18-year-old’s showing was as he won all his tackles, completed every attempted dribble, had a pass accuracy of 95%, won four duels, made two key passes and grabbed the assist for Mikel Merino’s goal as well.
In the Champions League, momentum is an intangible factor that is worth its weight in gold but the Englishman ensured that Los Merengues would not gain a stranglehold of this very asset at the Emirates Stadium — calming things down in possession and stopping the Spanish giants on the break by timing his challenges to perfection.
FotMob revealed that Lewis-Skelly had 74 touches against Real Madrid while Rice had only 43 — which emphasises how influential the former was for Arsenal in all three phases of the pitch but as for the latter, his primary function was to be a nuisance in the final third.
The ‘fearless’ thing Myles Lewis-Skelly did to Jude Bellingham vs Real Madrid
As a result, it is difficult to look past the teenager being the best player on the pitch.
It is also important to consider that while the highly-rated technician has been playing as an inverted left-back for months, the role is a complex one as he is tasked to defend like a full-back off the ball and operate like a midfielder in possession.
Yet, Lewis-Skelly was effortlessly brilliant against Real Madrid and even asked Jude Bellingham to turn around and get up after Jude Bellingham accused the Arsenal youngster had stamped on him.
Journalist Simons Collins revealed: “May have been missed last night, but there was a moment where Bellingham was down on the floor and claiming Lewis-Skelly had stamped on him. Lewis-Skelly simply turned ’round and told him to get up.”
“Such a confident character and utterly fearless. Already becoming a fan favourite.”
Lewis-Skelly has stunned Mikel Arteta this season but it seems like playing at a top-class standard is simply the norm when it comes to him.
After producing a performance for the ages on Tuesday, Arteta surely starts the young man in the second leg in Madrid as well.
