There is a certain irony in the fact that Saturday was intended as a rehearsal to determine who could prove their fitness to play in our defence against Real Madrid. Yet, it may have led to the conclusion that Myles Lewis-Skelly should not be starting on Tuesday.
While Everton’s penalty decision was contentious, it should not obscure the fact that it was another lapse in discipline from the teenager. He failed to play the ball and handed the official a decision to make in what was, in truth, a straightforward situation.
Critiquing any Gunner must be done carefully, as some supporters tend to portray our players as better than they are—particularly when they are academy graduates.
When one of our own earns an England cap, criticism can be met with accusations of negativity, even when simply pointing out that the 18-year-old is frequently caught out of position when we concede. Yet, hindsight is of little use once the damage is done.
In the Champions League knockout stages, the margin between success and failure can come down to the smallest moments and finest details. Deploying a midfielder out of position over two legs could prove costly. It remains Arteta’s decision, of course, but it is worth noting that he has experienced left-backs available on the bench. Is this an instance of the manager overthinking matters?
Man City 2-2 Arsenal
In stoppage time, Lewis-Skelly made his Premier League debut following Timber’s injury at right-back. Six minutes later, Manchester City equalised from a quickly taken corner. It occurred on his side, and it was the right-back’s responsibility to be alert—especially given that he had only just come on with the express task of helping to see out the match. His reluctance to engage may have stemmed from being already on a booking for touchline antics, meaning he could afford no further risks.
Arsenal 5-1 Bolton
In a sign of things to come, opponents targeted our left side on the counter-attack, with Lewis-Skelly having overcommitted during a set-piece.
Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool
Leading the match, Arsenal made the tactical decision to concede possession in an effort to protect the advantage. Lewis-Skelly was introduced in the 76th minute, and five minutes later Liverpool equalised. Alexander-Arnold exploited the space left by the full-back, who was too far up the pitch, and played a superb ball over his head, leaving our centre-backs outnumbered.
Arsenal 1-1 Man United
In an attacking phase, the 18-year-old attempted to win a header but misjudged it. The visitors capitalised on his positional error, sent a pass down the side he had vacated, and scored.
Newcastle 2-0 Arsenal
Possibly chasing the result from the first leg, our full-backs were pushed too far forward, leaving Gabriel and Saliba exposed. When Isak’s shot rebounded off the post, Murphy was in the area our left-back should have occupied.
Arsenal 0-1 West Ham
After the uproar from the previous week, Lewis-Skelly should have taken a lesson from the Wolves match. However, after giving the ball away near the halfway line, he showed no awareness of Raya’s advanced position. The goalkeeper was far off his line, and the left-back was shown a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
PSV 1-7 Arsenal
Had the officials acted correctly, the left-back’s lack of discipline might have drawn more scrutiny. Despite being on a yellow card, he committed a needless foul on Ledezma. Arteta substituted him after just 35 minutes.
Everton 1-1 Arsenal
A routine goal kick was mishandled, with Lewis-Skelly allowing the ball to bounce. Rather than attacking the ball, he focused on the player leaning on him, again presenting the referee with a decision to make.
That is a considerable number of errors for a player who only made his debut in September.
Would you start him midweek?
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MLS really reminds me a lot of Gabriel when he first came into the team. Young, huge potential, but would often commit huge errors amidst great performances.
Now look at Gabriel. Arguably the best CB in the world. He no longer makes those errors, and that’s because we stuck with him, coached him in the right way, and gave him the gametime needed.
We should stick with MLS, and I have no doubt he will learn to take less risks.
In regards to the Everton pen, it was never a pen! I don’t blame MLS at all for that. Typical awful referring.
No way!!! Better even to play him in midfield. He just needs to be more careful because they will target him. He is till learning. If he doesn’t invert too much, he won’t make errors.
Yes, I would start him midweek, with no hesitation. But it is not up to me or anyone else, only Arteta. Some of the mistakes were his, some were poor refereeing decisions but, like a lot of people in football think, he is talented and ability wise, there is no problem. I personally think Artwill play him, so whatever is written, it doesn’t really matter.
Should Odergaard be dropped against Madrid, for being poor? Should Merino for not being a striker? Should Martinelli be dropped for not being able to hit a barn door at 6 paces? Whoever plays, has to play well!
Depends if the alternative is better mate ?
At left back we have better options
Again, thats opinion and Arteta picks the team. We will find out this week. Whoever plays, we hope will play well.
Eg. Timber and White at left and right fullback respectively.
For our remaining EPL matches this season, I would very much recommend that Nwaneri starts at least half of them in place of Odegaard, but not against Madrid
Should Arteta be benched for losing out meekly in the FA and EFL cup? What are the probabilities he will set up the team to win against RM? Brilliant article Dan, we lost some 12 points because of him, agreed, but the bigger questions get overlooked
1. Why does a 17 year old have to be played at such a high level, what happened /why were the first team players not available? Timber, Tomi, Calaufori, Tierney? That makes 4 injury prone players – a bad reflection on the manager’s recruitment policy. The lad should have been gradually introduced in games which were won and done.
2. Mikel said he selects players based on the training ground performances, does he do the same rash mistakes time & again in training? A bad reflection on the coaches/manager who oversee training
3. Recurring mistakes – what have the coaches done to train the lad? Are they too focused on Sterling & trying to rejuvenate his career? The buck stops with Mikel.
We should play him against RM, let him get the exposure because it will be difficult to win the UCL this season as we cannot pass the Everton and WHU tests.
MLS is my favourite Arsenal player. I like his guts. I believe he will grow into a top class player for us. He should just sign the contract on the table if he has not.
And yes, I will start him against Madrid
MLS will be our best bet to contain Valverde if he starts. Yes he made a mistake on Saturday but so did the whole team on the first 3 minutes of the 2nd half
Really soft pen and adds to the poor ref decisions and var call for this season.
If u are going to blood young home grown players, which is what we all want then it comes with a price at times.
Sake had the same experience at times when he started at left back and now look what kind of a player we have ended up with
Onwards and upwards
I would 100% NOT play MLS versus Real Madrid and quite frankly, ever again this season. Even Zinchenko as poor as he is defensively does not make blunder after blunder as MLS does. Anyway, why are we even discussing MLS when we KNOW Kieran Tierney is by far the best left back we have at the club? Has Tierney ever made a blunder since he joined Arsenal? He was simply ejected from the team because Arteta claimed he and the other Emery players had a “bad attitude”. Insane we have such a quality player like Tierney but instead it is MLS and Calafiori both dodgy players taking turns at making blunders at left back. I hope Arteta is fired next season btw. Had enough of him and his process.
Keep dreaming Spurs fan
Tim,
With you being a Spurs fan, you’ve got even less to shout about than we have. So jog on mate.🤣😂🤷♂️
QD, he wasn’t dropped for the reason you posted, he was dropped because he doesn’t suit the way Mikel wants the LB to play. Simples…
@Herr Drier
Is that really factual, that Tierney doesn’t suit how Mikel wants the LB to play? When Tierney was played as an inverted LB vs Barcelona (23/24 preseason), he played really well and even made an assist from midfield. We are yet to see any game that Tierney actually played as an inverted LB and we all concluded he is whack. Also, why can’t the coach mold him into another position then? Ben White was hopeless as a defender and he was turned into a RB. DM Rice is being used as CM. Literally the slowest CM in the league, Merino, is being used as a freaking CF! When it comes to Tierney though, it’s inverted LB or bench, nothing else. Best to just admit Tierney is being treated differently based on the fact he was an Emery player. Need I remind you Arteta also tried to ruin Saliba but fan pressure forced his hand. Before you say Saliba needed the loan spells then same argument can be applied to MLS (who CLEARLY needs a loan spell out in the championship) and Nwaneri too but both have been intergrated into the team unilke Saliba who had to suffer outside first to prove his usefulness to Arteta. god, that man’s ego is something else.
It was not fan pressure actually. It was his exceptional performance on his loan spell that forced him to take him back otherwise he would have looked like a fool of a special kind.
HH,
Being a fool doesn’t bother Arteta. How else do you explain the signing of Havertz and the loan of Sterling to name but two.🙄🤦♂️🤷♂️
Was Arteta a fool tonight, Derek?
But it’s not working
Hence he wouldn’t be making so many mistakes
Well I think most teams are obviously going to target him because he’s still new, But he’s dealt with it very well.
You also need to appreciate the fact that Skelly-Lewis has been part of the best defense in the league, he’s surely contributed in that regard. Also the best in the world Saliba has too been responsible in some red cards and penalties this season and it seems to me you’re only targeting Skelly-Lewis.
You saying that there’s better options or alternatives is debatable. Zinchenko has been shaky at times, Calafiori also had some shaky moments and has some fitness issues and Tierney is just not part of the coaches plans, also has been exposed by some wingers before.
I have never heard Arteta state that Tierney had a bad attitude.
Aside from the West Ham and PSV Eindhoven incidents, I think the rest on the list is uncalled for and very harsh to pin on him. They can’t necessarily be called “errors”. BTW, He is our best option if Mikel insists on the inverted left back role. So yeah, he starts on Tuesday!
Which one is harsh on him ?
The Liverpool, Newcastle and Man United games it’s very obvious he’s out of position
The Liverpool game was obviously due to a mix up while trying to build up an attack which obviously involves the LB to move into midfield. Impossible to get back in your position when caught on the counter in that situation. Moreover it only took Liverpool 2-3 passes to get it to salah who then scored. The RB and RCB were also not in position to intercept the pass which indicates it was only unfortunate our attack broke down while positioned to attack.
I would go and watch that goal back
He’s out of position
Non of the choices comes across as a clear candidate With all four there’s something missing whether in attack or defense. It says a lot that Tierney is the best all rounder of the available left backs.. In his defense though, Skelley is a raw teenager who has been playing out of position. For all his errors he has also made some incredible defensive tackles.
Tierney has previously indicated that he had not fully understood how to play the role in Arteta’s system. Tierney is a good defensive LB but his all round game is not at an elite level in Arteta’s setup.
MLS is still learning the role but when inverting his game is at a higher level than TIerney’s.
Dan i do understand what you trying to say. Unfortunately as long as Arteta is asking his left back to invert, lewis is our best option. The park stops at the coach and maybe the Article should be if Arteta needs to change our strategy against Madrid. Which of course he wont! The positional ‘errors’ you have pointed out, if I may ask, has it occurred to you that, that is what the Gaffer asks him to do and maybe somebody else is required to cover him?
Well articulated to make me believe someone who does not digest MLS as an Arsenal player wrote this.
Whatever.
Arteta has done well:
Should he choose to play Lewis-Skelly as a striker;
Should he choose Partey as Right-Back
Merino as Center Back . . .
And should Madrid beat Arsenal . . .
Arteta is the man.
MLS is better than lots of our favourites.
And the officiating is worse than most want to admit.
Btw:
The bookies have arsenal as favourites.
They are not always correct but just about gives an idea.
Oh thank you lol
👍🏽
Btw who’s fave to qualify ?
@Dan: 🤔
My fave to qualify could be same as yours.
😁
Does yours have a certain Arteta in it?
The decision to penalise MLS/Arsenal in the last match was by no means straightforward and sadly this author once again fails to be balanced in assessments and criticisms.
The rest of the article is simply a disgraceful attempt to scapegoat a promising young player.
David, I think you just like hearing the sound of the word,” inverted”, perhaps it makes you believe that Arteta is a modern, cutting edge manager, along the lines of Chapman, Wegner and Guardiola, changing how football is played. But stop to think, our inverted centre halves can hold the line defensively but give us nothing in attack, nilch, zero, just boring predictability. Even Guardiola, the master had excellent specialist fullbacks such as Danny Alvez at Barcelona or Walker at City who were able to make speedy overlapping runs, opening spaces, forcing defenders into making errors etc. These are things the likes of Timber, White, Skelley and Tomiyasu are simply unable to do.
Think I said the decision was divisive?
What are the other examples that you disagree with ?
Against two of the best wingers on the Planet I would have thought that even Arteta would recognise the need to police them with our two best defensive full backs, namely Timber and Tierney.
Totally agree Grandad.
We need to be so solid defensively, which isn’t going to be easy anyway without Gabriel. So it would seem the sensible thing to do, and play Timber and Tierney as you rightly suggest.
And that’s not a slight on Lewis Skelly by the way.
Agree Derek. The defensive side of the match wasn’t going to exactly be an easy nut to crack to begin with but without Gabriel it would be an amazing feat to contain RM enough over two legs to have a reasonable chance of advancing. We can only hope for the boys to give their all and have faith that anything is possible.
Bruised Banana,
I personally think that we should tie the Madrid’s boot laces together. That would slow them down a bit. 😂🤣😉👍
Derek, good one, best idea I’ve read in quite a while on here, lol.
Arteta should just play Ben White at right back and Timber at left back. This will afford Partey the opportunity to marshall that midfield as playing Partey at right back would make Madrid to be all over us. This will mean huge pressure and capitulation is inevitable
Oh my, don’t even mention Partey at RB. I’ll be having nightmares tonight let alone after the game.
Smith thank you for raising this critical ongoing issue with Skelly. He 100% needs to be benched. 100%! Numerous of your participants in their comments have recently pointed out that Skelly is an accident waiting to happen. His game intellect and anticipation of threats very poor. Much worse is his positioning that allows the opponent striker to be in a better position to strike easily or be fouled. He can’t handle Rodrygo, Brahim or whoever faces him. Skelly’s impromptu reaction is to foul tge striker. He does not care about the place of the foul. Madrid will definitely target him if he plays. He will be in the starting 11 only if Anchellotti prepares the Arsenal line up as Skelly’s foul first policy suits them. We paid dear points for his red cards, penalties. He is only good if Arsenal trail and need goals at the end of the match. Bench is Skelly’s proper starting place!
My gut feeling tells me Calafiori is fit enough to start left full back. End of my worry over Lewis-Skelly!! White right FB. The two seasoned defenders by trade in Timber and Saliba to play CBs. The ref is a Bosnian ending his Ramadan month long fasting a few days ago. Officiated previously 2 Arsenal’s matches in Europa League which Arsenal won. Make it 3 in a row!
I think arc should go all in aquiering the defender Bassey
from Fulham fc..
Line ups are drawn up from recent performances and factual data. So it is quite obvious that Skelly must be dropped. PERIOD! Why Arteta should put unnecessary too much pressure on Skelly when Arsenal have too many options in that position by playing Calafiori, Zinchenko or the Scottish. Skelly is however is not the worst in his position because there is one named Robertson of Pool. For the future I know 2 best at left FB named Robinson of Fulham and Kerkez of Bournemouth. Can we sign either of these versatile both footed players this summer?
Line ups are drawn up from recent performances and factual data. So it is quite obvious that Skelly must be dropped. PERIOD! Why Arteta should put unnecessary too much pressure on Skelly when Arsenal have too many options in that position by playing Calafiori, Zinchenko or the Scottish. Skelly is however is not the worst in his position because there is one named Robertson of Pool. For the future I know 2 best at left FB named Robinson of Fulham and Kerkez of Bournemouth. Can we sign either of these versatile both footed players this summer?
Again I ask this question; did anyone notice Tierney’s play against Everton? His crosses gave the defender ls some torrid times and he was well composed on the ball. Why are we (fans and Arteta) not even thinking towards that side? Like we’ll say in Nigerian parlance ” Na wa o”
The 17 year old who makes us very happy on marking the Man City striker, now we’re condemning so early to the bench. Most people were unhappy when he was selected to represent England. I think there were Arsenal fans who were unhappy too. We must let him play and so he shall play. We’re beginning to condemn all our players. There’s a 17 year old at Barcelona he’s playing but he also made mistakes
What Man City striker did he mark ?
We’ve 5 left backs and people are still suggesting we buy another.
Tieney is the best shot at LB but I’ll be pleasantly surprised to see him start
Conceding goals from the left side is not limited to Skelly,we have conceded goals in almost all the matches when Zinchenko and Clafiori were playing.The problem is not related to certain player,it is definitely about performing the role of inverted back.It requires from the player to perform his job as a left back and second pivot (6). The matter requires the integration of roles between the left defensive midfielder, the winger, and the main pivot player. It is unreasonable for the player to perform this role without integration and cooperation with his teammates on the left side.
And the left centre back as well.
The left centre back has to cover the space when ever the left back does his inverted role.
Come on Gunners! If we all the players and fans as well are fearless, Madrid are beatable! Check their Sunday’s la liga result v a bottom relegation candidate team Valencia. Fearlessness as underdog won Leicester the fairytale title in 2016. In football in the past and recent events Davids have defeated Goliaths so Arsenal can not be exception. It is doable but with audacity and courage! COYG
I think we will get a decent result tonight mate
Even a draw I don’t think is end of world
Today morning I expected to see Dan’s prediction. Why not your gooners are invited to make their own prediction? Both teams have common shirt sponsors in Fly Emirates and adidas. Will Odegaard dare to celebrate if he scores? He should for he was a mere loan player at Madrid. Hala Gunners!
These are the nights we want to be part of peeps
Let’s make the Emirates loud tonight
Hala the Arsenal
Just a note of caution people, with the mighty Sterling suspended having picked up 3 bookings, I fear we’ll miss his all round superb performances since his arrival at the club.😂🤣
But on a serious note, both Martinelli and Timber have to tread carefully, as their a booking away from suspension themselves.🤦♂️👍
Quietly confident about this one, will even take a draw as Dan said. Outside of the actual matchups on the field, I also like the confrontation between the two managers. It seems that it was only yesterday when the two of them were sitting in the stands at Goodison Park both ready to take their next step. Ancelotti, already a serial winner wondering what he had let himself in for in taking the Everton job and Arteta with everything to prove,ready to start his first stint as a manager with his own team. Five years on they are both still going strong.
Ridiculous to question the lads chances of starting. He’s been a revelation and a joy to watch all season. I, along with most gooners I’m sure, have him down as an absolute cert to play. Let’s just back the boys for one of our biggest games in a long long time. COYG
He’s been a revelation……apart from the like 9 mistakes I pointed out since September? Lol
This is an example when i say we over hype our players
He’s been okay – good
Not a revelation
Majority of your 9 MISTAKES weren’t is fault, they were simply your opinion e.g. Kiwior was supposed to go nod the ball but didn’t. That left the lad with no other option
I wonder if Deliveroo do Humble Pie. Extra large slice for Mr Smith please after the RM game.
Now we know why he isn’t managing Arsenal 🤣
Why humble pie
Where did I say we would lose last
Night
I predicted we would win and said at half time to Sue Rice will score lol
Good try though mate