Gooners exist all around the world, but those representing England should appreciate Thomas Tuchel’s approach in taking on ‘parental responsibilities’ when selecting Myles Lewis-Skelly for his first squad.
The FA has not done much to dispel the notion that their new coach is only here for the World Cup cycle. To be fair to the German, his primary concern is the next 18 months. It is, therefore, a classy touch that the 51-year-old is taking responsibility for safeguarding a player’s long-term development.
The new boss essentially stated that if not for injuries, it would be more suitable for the 18-year-old to be joining up with the Under-21s rather than being fast-tracked to the senior setup. This is not due to any lack of ability—quite the opposite. His national manager wants to nurture and protect his talent.
Having worked at Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and PSG, Tuchel is well aware of the pressures placed on young players. This is why he has been in constant dialogue with Mikel Arteta, who has also begun managing the youngster’s minutes. Of all the shirts a professional footballer can wear, few carry more weight or come under more scrutiny than the one with the Three Lions.
Technique and hard work may get a player to this level, but many other qualities are required to remain there. Can a young player keep a level head if they perform well against Albania or Latvia and suddenly find themselves the centre of media attention? Can they handle criticism if they make a mistake in a crucial qualifier? How do they respond to the countless sponsors and advertisers vying for their attention?
This is where the club plays a vital role. At this stage of Lewis-Skelly’s development, it is crucial that he has a strong support network providing structure and acting in his best interests.
Some Gooners have described the left-back as one of Arsenal’s players of the season. In reality, he has only made 14 league appearances this campaign, with opposition teams often targeting him and several goals resulting from his positional inexperience. However, this is not a criticism. A year ago, he had not played in the Premier League and was a midfielder. It is only natural for a player of his age to make mistakes while learning a new role. This is why his manager had to substitute him during the first leg of a Champions League tie, reminding him of the need for discipline. On another night, some officials may have deemed his tackle worthy of a second yellow card—less than two weeks after he had been sent off against West Ham.
If only there were a former Gunner from whom all parties could learn, ensuring a more measured approach.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, another graduate of Arsenal’s academy, was also a midfielder who transitioned to full-back. After delivering the best performances of his career in the FA Cup final and Community Shield, he earned three England caps. Hype among Arsenal supporters escalated, with some even suggesting he was superior to N’Golo Kanté—just as Lewis-Skelly is now being compared to Ashley Cole.
It is not that a section of the fanbase lacks football knowledge, but rather that they are so eager to see ‘one of their own’ succeed that they convince themselves of such claims. In reality, just six months after winning medals and receiving international recognition, the then 23-year-old was sent on loan to West Brom, still determined to prove himself as a midfielder—a role that existed only in his imagination.
A year after lifting silverware at Wembley, he was publicly expressing his frustration on social media over a blocked loan move to Everton. The following February, he was loaned to Roma, then Southampton, merely to remove him from Arsenal’s wage bill while his contract ran down.
That is how quickly fortunes can change in football.
Maitland-Niles is now 27 and can no longer rely on the excuse of youth. While there is still time for him to become the central midfielder he believes himself to be, his career serves as a cautionary tale—one that should keep Lewis-Skelly grounded.
There is nothing wrong with having confidence in one’s ability. However, when those in charge of a player’s club and country suggest they are best suited to a particular position, perhaps their judgement should be trusted. Many players would relish the opportunity to play out of position if it meant starting every week for Arsenal.
So far, Lewis-Skelly is listening. Maitland-Niles did not.
Success in football is about having a reliable support system and being receptive to guidance. Mikel Arteta has a track record of moving players on if he feels they do not align with his ethos, and he was unlikely to be impressed by Maitland-Niles resisting a position change. By contrast, Lewis-Skelly was open to discussions in pre-season, during which Arsenal’s coaching staff identified left-back as his best route into the first team.
Ironically, Maitland-Niles is now more accepting of his versatility in France than he ever was in England or Italy. Had he been more open to adaptation earlier, he might still be at Arsenal today.
So, whatever Lewis-Skelly achieves in the coming weeks, let’s all stay calm and keep a level head.
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AML did seem to have a fair amount of potential when he came through, but never seemed that determined, and it always seemed when he was in the team, it was more to do with others missing, rather than his ability. He has since disappeared into the footballing wilderness, and you’d be hard pressed to know where he’s even playing now (it’s Lyon by the way).
MLS looks way ahead in regards to potential, ability, and mentality. He initially came into the team like AML, when players were missing, but unlike AML, has made the position his own, keeping out no more than 3 senior players (Zinny, Cala, and Kiwior). That is some feat for such a young player!
So with AML wenger sent him out on loan and the then manager Mccarthy said he could be a top player with his talent. When he returned wenger said his position was midfield but would deploy him in various positions to build up his game.
Wenger left, emery arrived and so did the awful free signing of lichtsteiner who was a back up for bellerin.
Bellerin suffered that huge injury which he was never the same player again but as lichtsteiner was used as cover – it was clear he was past it and got rinsed in games. AML was used as rb and he did well but was part of a defence which included mustafi, sokratis and kolasanic. Seeing guendozhi arrive and become a midfield regular along with torriera also must have been deflating.
By the time arteta arrived AML was more vocal about playing in midfield , yet arteta saw him more of rb and basically what white and now timber are doing as in inverted Rb . AML was praised but then was dropped …. and then he eventually left. Whilst arteta was building his team AML didn’t see the vision of that, he felt he had been loyal done what managers had asked and now it was time to be playing his preferred role.
As a club we let Niles down, yes he could have had more patience but as a club we tested that too much with him along with the personal issues he had outside of family. Niles is a perfect example of how a poorly run club overlooked what they had , a glorified scout who brought his own players and assured they would get game time over a player already there.
The hype was justified was niles – the club let him down
He played 132 times for Arsenal ?
More then enough to prove he wasn’t good enough
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RealTalk. He pulled off a Motm display against Liverpool under Arteta and was never heard from again. But golden boy Jack, who played a blinder at Barca, was kept on for years. Even though he could not run dribble past opponents and never tracked back(preferring to walk instead) and spent most of his time on the injury list, was always played in his preferred position. Go figure.
AMN was frustrating because in some key games and against some of the toughest individual opponents (e.g. Adama Traore) he was able to shut down the left side (I remember him playing great on the left, defensively at least, not so much on the right tbh) in our favour, completely dominating with his physicality and skill. Then in the next game he’d get caught out of position, or look less interested, it seemed. That’s why there was hype, though, because he demonstrated he had the ability to play a very high level game. I agree he shot himself in the foot with his desire to play one particular position, and it may have been he would never achieve the consistency required to make it at the top level in the long run.
Aside from hype, I don’t see many parallels with MLS at the moment tbh. He seemingly just wants to play, doesn’t appear to be demanding anything like unwarranted playing time, or a particular role. Hopefully he keeps this attitude, learns from his mistakes and experiences this season, and fulfills his potential, whatever that is. I think he has a very high ceiling, but I guess we’ll find out.
I would not worry too much about Lewis Skelly, the club has come on leaps and bounds in the way it supports youngsters.
Gone are the days when Paul Merson would get his first wage packet and go straight down the pub and bookies. The young kids today have plenty of guidance from coaches and even ex players like Wrighty who never fails to show his support and current ones like Saka who have been on the same journey.
Plus, MLS’s mother is an absolutely remarkable woman. When she had agents and sponsors ringing about her ten year old son she asked the club what she needed to do to become an agent. They told her she needed to pass an exam, so she did then decided that her son deserved better and did a masters degree in sports management. Now she runs a web site that helps the parents of other young footballers.
You have hit the nail on the head Dan. If at the age of 27 AMN is now able to be more flexible, isn’t it a pity that he didn’t have the maturity or the family background to nurture the talent that he had.
It’s not fair to blame the club for all AMN’s shortcomings any more than it is to blame school teachers for average results by pupils who choose not to pay attention in class.
I can’t make sense of what you are saying. That opposition teams have targeted MLS and scored from his position? Not true. May be you are talking about Califiore not MLS. MLS has been solid overall and has been better than Cali at LB
So you can make sense of it then lol
Are you claiming goals don’t come from his mistakes ? Being out of position?
Anyway, Lewis-Skelly starts for England tonight.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is the youngest player in history to score on his senior England debut
Oh my, what a wonderful thing. So happy for him. I’d love to be a fly on the wall later in the dressing room.
Great stat
Fantastic