Mikel Arteta addressed the task of replacing Mikel Merino in the squad.
The Spaniard suffered a fractured foot that will keep him out for most of the rest of the season. **Arsenal**have now lost one of their more adaptable options in the first team, and the manager may look to a Hale End graduate as one of the solutions to take the group over line in the coming months.
“Of course, when you lose a big player like this in the squad with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to look and we need to do everything that we possibly can to see if we have a player that is available. If we don't, we keep what we have.
“At this level, especially for four months, you have to be a player who has the capacity to adapt immediately and impact the team, and that's not easy. But if it was easy [to replace Mikel], we wouldn't be here. So we need to find solutions and try.
“We had the news a few days ago and obviously we are always active in every window that we have just in case something happens. We have the departure of Ethan Nwaneri as well to Marseille for the right reasons, I believe, for the club, player and the team. Then the news of Mikel Merino was very unexpected, obviously, especially for such a long time.
“We are actively looking at options and we will continue to do that. My day will be the same as usual, I will be busier and if we have a final solution, I will try to do it, and if we don't, we will continue in the manner that we are now.
“Myles Lewis-Skelly* has the qualities to play in different positions. He has played as a fullback, as a six or as an attacking midfielder even. So yes, that is an option that we have in his squad. I believed that he had the best chance to break into the first team playing in that position [left back] because I think he has unique qualities that we didn't have in the squad to accommodate that and to give him the chance to play for us.*
“What I would love to see from Ethan is that he scores that goal every three days. When he plays a lot of minutes, he gets the exposure that he needs, he continues to grow mentally, physically, in all the technical and tactical aspects that are necessary at this level, and that's the reason we've done it.”