Mikel Arteta has plenty of dilemmas over which players he will pick for Arsenal, with the depth of his squad impacting one of his stars in particular this season.
14:05, 20 Nov 2025
Mikel Arteta looks on during a Champions League game at Arsenal
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Mikel Arteta has been sent a clear message from one of his Arsenal players(Image: (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images))
Arsenal had a busy summer of transfer business, as they spent over £250million on new signings to help bolster out the squad with quality in depth. That has helped in large parts of the team this season, as injuries have hampered the Gunners across almost every position so far.
The one position that hasn't been quite as impacted by it is at full-back. Both Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori have been the standout first-choice options for Mikel Arteta, putting in some positive displays in an attacking and defensive sense.
That has, however, had a knock-on effect to the players currently behind them in the pecking order. Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ben White have featured in a reduced capacity this campaign, as both wait for their opportunity to take their respective full-back shirts as their own.
For Lewis-Skelly in particular, it's a first setback of sorts in his early senior career at Arsenal. The youngster came through the Hale End academy ranks as a midfielder, but his introduction as a left-back last season in the absence of Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko helped move the side forward.
Some impressive displays caught the eye, and Lewis-Skelly earned England caps along the way. However, now on the sidelines and looking to push back into both the Arsenal team and the national team, there is a challenge ahead.
Many reports have linked Lewis-Skelly with a potential exit in the January transfer window, but his recent cryptic one-word message on Instagram may point towards his current mindset. He simply said: "Persistence," as he posted several photos of him training in the gym alongside some other sides of his personal life.
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It seems clear that the 19-year-old is ready to fight for his position at Arsenal, even if that challenge could cost him a place in England's World Cup squad for 2026. That was something Lewis-Skelly explained recently when speaking to the press about his position in the team.
He said, via ESPN: "I'm enjoying it this season. It's a different experience for me, not playing as much at the moment, but I'm enjoying being part of the team. It's important to compete for places and I'm a competitive person, so I'm never going to back down. I enjoy the challenge. Being with these boys is a joy.
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"The standards are high and everyone wants to play. Because the levels are so much higher this season, places are short, but you've just got to compete. At the end of the day, I just want to express myself.
"Football's what I love and I'll never make excuses if I am playing or not. I just want to go out there and express myself. As long as I'm doing that, I'm giving the gaffer a choice to make."
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Lewis-Skelly has made 12 appearances so far across all competitions, with four of those being starts in the Champions League and Carabao Cup. While this is something of a new challenge for the youngster, he seems persistent in pushing his way into the manager's thinking.