Arsenal have been receiving a ton of praise since their victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The Gunners went into the game against the European champions as the underdogs, but they were by far the better side on Tuesday night.
Declan Rice scored a stunning brace before Mikel Merino netted a fantastic goal to seal a convincing 3-0 win for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Many other Arsenal players deserve credit for their performance against Real Madrid. One of them has now received some special praise from three of the country’s biggest pundits.
Micah Richards, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer rave about Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly
Myles Lewis-Skelly has been the best young player in the Premier League this season.
This time last year, the teenager was playing for the Gunners’ academy side and wasn’t close to being a regular in the first-team.
But, since making his senior debut, Lewis-Skelly has been phenomenal and is now Arsenal’s first-choice left-back – even though he is naturally a central midfielder.
Against Real Madrid, Lewis-Skelly was one of the best players on the pitch, and the way he performed when he inverted into midfield against the likes of Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham was just fantastic.
Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker were all in awe of the youngster. Here’s what they said about him on the Rest Is Football podcast:
Shearer: Saka! Oh my God.
Richards: No, no, no. Forget Saka for a moment. Lewis-Skelly!
Shearer: He’s a beast already.
Richards: He gets on the ball, on the half-turn, in midfield, composed, drops his shoulder, plays the ball forward, he’s aggressive and he can defend – at 18 years of age. He’s a superstar. He’s an absolute superstar.
Lineker: He’s already a must for England. His emergence has been astonishing this season. He’s like a man in a… it’s not even a child’s body, he’s a proper physical specimen. His game intelligence is incredible, his technique is really gifted, he absolutely is not the tiniest bit afraid. I was going: ‘My God, wow! It’s like watching a little young Spanish player!’
Richards: I couldn’t believe it! It was like Lahm in his prime, drifting in from full-back into midfield. I was thinking to myself: ‘This can’t be real’.
Myles Lewis-Skelly possesses the best attributes of three different Arsenal defenders
It’s very rare to see an 18-year-old consistently perform at the highest level in his debut season, especially when he has been asked to play in an unnatural position.
But, Lewis-Skelly has made it look easy at Arsenal over the last few months, and his attributes allow him to thrive at left-back even though it isn’t his usual role.
That’s because the youngster possesses Kieran Tierney’s defensive skills, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s ability on the ball when he inverts and Riccardo Calafiori’s fearlessness. To add to that, Lewis-Skelly is incredibly strong as well.
That is why the teenager is ahead of all three left-backs at Arsenal right now.
