Former Premier League striker Darren Bent is worried about Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly ahead of the Chelsea clash in the Carabao Cup semifinal. He believes that the defender has not been at his best this season, which has worried him.
Speaking on talkSPORT (via Metro) ahead of the semifinal clash at Stamford Bridge, Bent said that Lewis-Skelly has found it hard to get his place back in the starting XI because of Riccardo Calafiori. He believes that the youngster is set to start against Chelsea, but added that he was not at his best in the Portsmouth clash in the FA Cup. He said:
"He's had a bit more of a difficult time this season. What he did last season, everyone was like, 'Wow!'. What he's had to deal with in terms of coming back, Calafiori has been outstanding this season which is why he hasn't got many minutes. I think he's going to play in this game [against Chelsea], potentially, but defensively, certainly against Portsmouth as well, he's looked a bit vulnerable at times."
Arsenal travel across London to face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semifinal first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, January 14
Mikel Arteta on Arsenal vs Chelsea in the semifinal
Mikel Arteta has four injury worries ahead of Arsenal vs Chelsea on Wednesday. The Gunners manager has revealed that Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapié are out injured, while William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are doubtful.
The manager has Kai Havertz back, but has said that the German minutes will need to be managed and could feature against his former side, Chelsea. He said (via club website)
"We have to manage his minutes now, but he had a good block of 20-25 minutes the other day. He trained really well again today, it's now a case of building his robustness and make sure that he's available for every game."
Talking about the importance of the game, Arteta added:
"Well, the more you are involved in these kind of games, the better, because it gives you a nudge, it brings the team a different kind of energy. It gives you the sense that the objective is very, very close and that's a massive motivation for everybody. So we know that we are two games away from playing a final. We have to go game-by-game and the first one is Stamford Bridge."
Chelsea and Arsenal drew at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, when Moises Caicedo was sent off in the first half.