Myles Lewis-Skelly is too good to be left on the bench; his last two cameos have made that abundantly clear.
A regular figure in Arsenal’s back four last season, Lewis-Skelly earned praise from Gabriel Magalhães, who admitted he felt confident with the youngster at left back. Yet two games into the new campaign, the teenager has not been handed a starting spot.
Calafiori preferred over Lewis-Skelly
Riccardo Calafiori has been chosen ahead of him. While the Italian has not performed poorly, the Hale End graduate has not surrendered his place quietly. Even with limited opportunities, he continues to impress.
With all eyes on Max Dowman, Lewis-Skelly’s performance may have slipped under the radar, but he stood out in Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Leeds after coming on in the 64th minute.
Inverting into midfield as he often does, the young Gunner was calm and composed in possession, helping Arsenal dominate the ball and control the game against the Premier League newcomers. He won duels, distributed with precision, and reminded fans of the pass-master potential he possesses.
His standout display is best appreciated through the numbers:
Lewis-Skelly vs Leeds
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Minutes played: 27
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Ground duels won: 4/5 (80%)
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Tackles won: 1/1 (100%)
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Accurate passes: 21/21 (100%)
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Successful dribbles: 2/2 (100%)
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Touches: 28
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Fouls won: 1
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Recoveries: 2
A problem position becoming a strength
Once a problem position, left back should now be one of Arteta’s strengths. The Spaniard will be pleased to have Calafiori fit, but he will be even more encouraged by how Lewis-Skelly has responded to being left out of the starting XI.
The battle between the two could elevate Arsenal’s left wing. With smart rotation, Arteta may look to manage Calafiori’s fitness, and fans could soon see Lewis-Skelly earn minutes in midfield, where many believe his long-term future lies.
So, Calafiori or Lewis-Skelly, who should start at left back when Arsenal face Liverpool at Anfield?
Daniel O
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This is uncalled for. We have about 25 quality players and you can’t expect all of them to start. What is important is that substitutions are made early, the best being the hour mark or thereabout. I sometimes get defeated by some people’s logic. In one vein, they want a big quality squad that can be rotated, in the other vein they feel bad when some players are left on the bench! Isn’t this a contadiction? I would understand if the person brought on does not perform to expectations but if he performs well, why should anyone complain? This is what mental confusion is. Let us accept that all our players must play in different competitions and it shouldn’t be an issue whether one starts or comes on as a substitute.
Agree David Rusa. This is where MA must be ruthless in a sense. He must not hesitate to use the many weapons in the squad now at his disposal and potentially effective ways to improve the course of a game as necessary.
For a moment I thought its gonna be about Dowman 😂😂 what pressure.!?
Lolz
I thought so too
David Rusa,
Well said. There can only be 11 players played in said game. And although as fans we have our opinions on who that should be, and our favorites come to that.
We’ve got to use the squad as wisely as is possible. And hopefully with the amount of games that we could potentially play this season, most if not all the squad will get their chance to shine throughout the season.
And these days, it’s more of a squad game anyway.
The difference is, we come up against Salah next week and a different tactic and maybe a different starting player. Interesting to see what Arteta does. For me the LB has not been a/the problem. The way we play it has.
Calafiori or Timber should start at LB against Salah
If White is fit, I think this may be the best option. Timber locks down whatever side of the pitch he’s thrown on
Timber is our RB. He will never start LB next week.
Timber is better on the right but should be used on the left at Anfield as our best hope against Salah.
Never going to happen and shouldn’t.
It already happened last season and it needs to happen again. Salah didn’t score until the 81st minute (coincidentally enough, 5 minutes after MLS came on to replace Timber). This does assume that White will be available as RB and Timber will be up to full fitness.
Salaha’s 33 now, isn’t it about time he started to deteriorate?🤣 Anyway, we could still play Timber at LB even if White is not yet fit enough. Mosquera looks already good enough to step in when needed.
Well, Robert Lewandowski is 37 and scored over 40 goals for F C Barcelona last season (helping them win the domestic treble) so – unfortunately – I suspect there may be some goal scoring life left in “old” Salah yet.
I remember when Lewandowski was available before ending up at Barca and even then the “old” label was being placed on him. If memory serves, his transfer fee was being floated in the €40-50m range and no clubs were really locked into him. I was perplexed as to why we didn’t seem to be interested even with the fact that he was over 30 and looking for a multi year contract. I guess the rest is history as they say.
True. There were certainly some initial doubts at F C Barcelona about bringing him in. Not for the first time, the club’s financial position was a factor because they needed a “big” name striker (Messi had left under unfortunate circumstances also connected to the finances) but couldn’t afford a superstar-size fee.
Needless to say, he’s won just about everyone over since joining. Age is catching up on him a little now, and he’s picking up a few more injuries. However, he’s now in the final year of his contract so may either move on or, quite possibly, just retire next summer. Overall, though, a terrific buy.
No it doesn’t and it won’t 🫣
Will you praise MA if (oh, I forgot, when) it doesn’t? That should be good.
Of course. But he won’t.
Well, as I mentioned above, he has done it before and I believe he should use Timber on the left again against Liverpool if he is fit enough. We’ll have to agree to disagree on the second part.
He did it before because of injuries. And the fact he would not play Zinchenko with Saliba missing. Mls was only a youth player then. White played CB, Partey RB and Timber LB, I may be wrong but that was the last time timber played LB. Away later in the season with all fit, MLS played at LB. Both games ended the same result.
Injuries and youth. Are those reasons or dreaded excuses? I guess it beats the heck out of “never”. Should or shouldn’t is simply a matter of opinion.
No fact.
Only a fact to you and others, if any, who happen to feel the same way. A determination of should or shouldn’t is an opinion. That is a fact.
We have two quality left backs already and Timber is (with White not 100%) by some way our best right back. Of course he isn’t going to play him at left back. It’s a suggestion that has no realistic chance of happening and makes little sense to be suggested.
Scrubbychubby – It is a suggestion that makes plenty of sense and has happened multiple times in the past and quite successfully applied, including against Salah. It is not the optimal situation as Timber is better on the right, as I have already noted, but if White is able to play, it is the best solution. However, your opinion that it will not happen on this occasion as a foregone conclusion is noted and respected even if not agreed to.
Timber may not be fit enough yet to be used in an attempt to shut Salah down again but there’s no doubt to me or others that it is a realistic possibility. In any case, I hope the left side of our defense is able to hold its own.
MLS has better defensive qualities, but still makes those 18 year old defensive errors that can get him red carded. Calafiori, sometimes it feels like players just float past him. When MLS is on his game, for a big match like this, against the best right attacker in the world, I’d rather go with MLS.
Arteta’s inverted-LB tactics seemed to have been cracked by other top EPL team managers
Whereas his overlapping-LB tactics have been successful in the last three games, so he’d likely keep using Calafiori instead of Lewis-Skelly
Having said that, he could use Timber as an inverted-LB at Anfield, since Tomiyasu played that successfully to nullify Salah’s threat
@Gai, I wish Arteta could actually use Timber at AB at Anfield I don’t see MLS able to handle Salah he leaves spaces at the back and doesn’t recover as fast as Timber. I also want to see Mosquera at RB his physicality would be too much for Gapko to handle and he is also quick. Over all a 4:2:3:1 used against ABibao might work well at Anfield
I think this has been a smart move by Arteta.
He is giving Calafiori an outing, but with his injury record, I think Arteta is banling on Calafiori getting injured, then he can play Lewis Skeely without upsetting Caliafiori.
Just my thoughts
Everybody can never play at same time, one thing is sure Timber is better defensively than the two of them MLS and California to hold Salah captive, for now Salah is the biggest treat of Liverpool. Aterta up for you to make the right decision.
Skelley, played well when he comes on but he was playing primarily as a midfielder in a game which was wide open because it had already been won thanks to Califiori and co. having put the Leed’s defence on the back foot and applying the pressure. If Skelly starts against Liverpool simply in order to contain Salah, then it could backfire. By not attacking we could be putting further pressure on ourselves by giving them too much ball and additional opportunities to go on the counter. This is where Skelley is also weak, prone to losing his head and going in for kamikaze tackles,which may or may not come off. In the long run, and backed up by his second half performance against Leeds, I see Skelly as a competent midfielder. At this stage he is already better at side ways passing than Elneny and appears to have a stronger physical presence than Zubamendi. It should only be a matter of a season or two before Skelly reaches his full potential.
Mls is not a midfielder ok , yes he can adjust like we’ve see zinchenko and some other players do but a midfielder is way more than that, midfielder is cazorla, vitinha, Morgan Rogers etc.. mls can best be a dm but not a maestro.
Infact I rate rice and zubimendi as Dm so we don’t need another Dm. Is that clear?😊
Tea,
“Is that clear?” I love it when your masterful.😂🤣👍
As clear as your self righteousness will allow it to be. But you are being short sighted, O.K.
It is a great problem to have! Isn’t it? At Anfield Calafiori should start IMO. If white were to be fit then Timber starts, he is soo good on one vs one.
And how about we abandon the left back invertion and instead use right back? That way we’ll lock the space that salah will want to exploit.
never thought that the stat really blind there with that kid performance was far from good, calafiori done better than him…
Not gonna happen, its an awful thing to say that timber should play LB wen we have cala and mls. Yes timber is cool but our LBs are equally good enough to face salah or anybody.
I’m starting to have a renewed hope in this club , the way they handled the LW issue was sicilian mafia like😅, it was so discreet I’m sure martinelli and his fans didn’t see eze coming.
his fans should be preparing to see him out of the club now, we thank him and best wishes but the problem like someone rightly said is he has no suitors and that shows how awful martineli is and that’s sad, I have sympathy for him coz he always give his all, running and chasing opposition but that’s not what we primarily signed him for
It is the intrigue mentality that I detest in some people! Who are Martinelli’s fans? Those are Arsenal fans who like Martinelli because of his playing style and they will support whoever plays for the club unless they are imbeciles. It is objectionable to start categorising us into compartments. There is nothing wrong with supporting any player. However, I doubt that any fan would care who plays as long as he delivers the goods.
What a pillock you are Tea.
Do you really think that “Martinelli’s fans” are worried that the club have signed Eze?
As a admirer of Martinelli, I’m over the moon that our club have signed another top player,who will put pressure on Martinelli, Trossard and Odegaard as well.
Time for you to realize that a supporter of the club is just that and, while one has players one likes, it’s the club that always comes first.
That’s the situation Ken1945.
Arteta’s fans, Martinellis fans, Arteta’s haters and so on….. Poor school of thought of some people 🙄🙄
The thing that concerns me regarding Calafiori at left back against Liverpool, is his lack of pace. If there’s a player in the league who can exploit that, its going to be Salah.
For me, I’m not convinced by either Calafiori or Lewis skelly in the left back roles. I’d like to see the club do something radical and actually by a left back. But as that’s clearly not going to happen, I’m going to have to just shut my eyes whenever we’re attacked down our left side. 😂🤣👍
I don’t understand the kind of eyes you watch football with coz cala and mls are not what u say they are in my own eyes coz how can they not be reliable, and unless you are bringing a left footed hakimi then I can’t think of any LB that are outrightly or even better than them
I’m glad you know they ain’t going no where so with time I’m sure your eyes will open then you’ll start seeing what we are seeing in these 2 effective lads🤣
Tea,
I’m not saying there bad players, far from it. But to me a proper left back will give you more consistent performances more often than not. And nothing you say will sway me on that. So in this instance, we’re going to have to agree to disagree. 👍
I know. Its why I say with time you’ll see they are proper
I’m afraid Tea, with time I won’t see as you say. For me they’re not natural left backs end of. And as I said, on this issue we’ll have to agree to disagree.👍
Derek Arteta doesn’t play proper LBs Nothing with the ones we have, it the way he plays them that is.
Antonee Robinson of Fulham is arguably the best left back in the Premier League and the one at Spurs isn’t so bad either.
Antonee who?
Honestly I don’t know him and he didn’t catch my eyes yestday coz I watched d fulham game, maybe I’ll watch him closer
The dreadlock LB at spurs seem good yea but I won’t trade him for ours
You are correct Jax.He has just recovered from injury, and started on the bench for Fulhan yesterday.With regard to the debate of Calafiori versue MLS, apparently we are currently weighing up a bid for Piero Hincapie of Bayer Laverkusenn who is a left footed LB or LCB.He has been capped 46 times for Equador despite only being 23, and unlike MLS and Calafiori he is very quick.
Thanks for the info Grandad, sounds encouraging especially if Kiwior ends up going elsewhere, which I still consider likely. As Tomi exemplified imo, if you are extremely knowledgeable and experienced in the role, you don’t have to possess blazing speed or exceptional quickness to be effective, but you must either be in the Tomi mold or have those physical attributes.
Grandad, that lot I N17TH are also trying to sign Piero Hincapie. Imagine their fans reaction if we get him after what happened with the Eze deal 😂
👍HD, it would be worth it just for that reason alone!! 🤣 even though it does appear he would be costly with a LT contract at Leverkusen and them reportedly wanting to hang on to him.
Spot on Derek, especially if the inverted tactic is used again.
Bro you are on point.I share your view/fear too.For me let timber be moved to lb and Mosquera to the RB.
Are you a Liverpool fan?🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣
See sense in your comments bse that new Dutch guy and salah will be happy to attack that space on the left.
I’m not confident with Lewis Skelly as our left back, he is good going forward, but defending he’s a liability. Simple eg look at the header Brian Mbeumo had at Old Trafford , Lewis Skelly just stood & watched, look at some of the goals we considered last year because of him. Calafiori should start all important games, Lewis Skelly should learn how to defend.
But every game is important, or so I thought! Do we now have games that you get to win more than the three points 🙆♂️ .