The Arsenal back four may have just found a new member, giving us a defensive lineup we can trust for league glory.
Earlier this season, the strongest Arsenal back four arguably consisted of summer recruit Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, and Jurrien Timber (or Ben White).
However, injuries have forced the Arsenal back four to evolve, and now there could be a new lineup with Calafiori replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.
Besides Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly is one Hale End star pushing for a key role in Mikel Arteta’s project.
After brilliant cameo appearances in the league, Champions League, and Carabao Cup, the young Gunner finally got his first Premier League start last weekend as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 5-1.
Against Palace, the 18-year-old proved he was too good to be kept on the bench. His influential play and courage justified his starting position.
Many were keen to see if he’d retain his spot in the Arsenal lineup versus Ipswich, and indeed, he did.
I don’t know about you, but after that 1-0 win over Ipswich, I’m convinced Myles Lewis-Skelly is a better fullback talent than what we have. Two things stand out from his performance: Few players can protect the ball like Lewis-Skelly, and he confidently stamps his passing identity on the game.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s game by numbers vs. Ipswich:
– 58/59 passes completed
– 9 duels won
– 3 tackles
– 3 fouls won
– 3 final third entries
– 2 take-ons completed
– 2 chances created
– 2 clearances
The Hale End star will certainly reduce Calafiori to a rotation option. In fact, there’s a narrative that Lewis-Skelly might actually be the player we hoped Calafiori would be.
If things continue as they are, by the end of the season, Arteta’s strongest back four could feature Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, and Lewis-Skelly.
Daniel O
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He needs to do more in attack and less sideways and backwards passing.
Passing stats are very misleading he only makes safe passes.
No. The boy is a gem. Physically strong and technically very intellectual. He is brave when going into challenges and reads the game well, atleast as of the 2 games he stared recently. Importantly, he is a mildfileder by trade, explaining the good composure and ball hold up before turning and trading defence splitting passes. Atleast he attempted a few such great passes. I hope he stays injury free and controls his tempers well. Otherwise the football world is beckoning him to light it up. Happy for him and the academy
Overhyping promising young players brings with it the risk of a dramatic fall from grace when they are exposed on the pitch which is inevitable against top quality opposition.In the case of LMS the promising young midfielder has done well to operate as an inverted LB but in reality, he is basically used to recycle the ball by making low risk short passes to retain possession which in itself does not cause much concern to the opposition.I do hope we stop putting him on a pedestal when he is still a promising apprentice.Hopefully he will develop into a fine midfielder but as a genuine fan I would not wish him to be exposed to the likes of Salah at this stage of his career.
He was eased in to playing a full game.
He will I am sure be eased into playing regularly, this takes time. So I wont be surprised if we don’t see him playing regularly until next season when his body is strong enough to meet the demands of a full 90 minute + game every few days.
MLS has shown he will one for the future and some games in the present.
Maybe he can replace Partey next season but I can’t see us having paid so much for Calafiori and not play him esp when MLS is a midfielder not a left back
Saka also started as left back if i remember correctly
Neil, Saka started off as a Left Winger, he only played Left Back due to injuries to Tierney and Kolasinac.
Last night against Bredford , I fell more secure with him on the left side. What a tallent we have..