Manchester United are now actively plotting a move to get one over on their Premier League rivals and sign a player considered to be Arsenal's "future captain".
Carrick slams "huge" Man Utd penalty call
Whilst it remains true that Michael Carrick has done an excellent job throughout his interim spell, Man United's 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Friday night sent a timely reminder of the work that he still has to do.
For just the third time in Carrick's second stint at the club, the Red Devils failed to secure all three points in an incredibly disappointing evening.
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Man Utd may have dropped points on Friday night, but there was reason for optimism for Michael Carrick.
As far as the interim boss was concerned, the 2-2 draw wasn't entirely his side's own doing. He took the chance to have his say on the decision to deny United a penalty moments before Ryan Christie equalised for the hosts - slamming the officials.
He told reporters: "There’s a two-arm grab. The Matheus one he gives, the second one on Amad he doesn’t, which I think is almost identical, really.
"If you have two hands on someone in the box and they go over and they’re in control of the ball, for me it’s two penalties. It will be interesting to see which one they acknowledge is wrong: the one we got or the one we didn’t get.
"It’s a huge moment. They don’t give it, they go down the other end and score and then it becomes all of a sudden, ‘oh, it needs to be a bigger penalty to overturn’, just because they scored, when actually it’s a penalty and it should be a penalty if you’ve already given one."
Man United have at least seen their rivals also drop points this weekend and continue to push towards a Champions League place, which could open the door to a shock move.
Man Utd plotting shock Lewis-Skelly move
As reported by TeamTalk, INEOS are now working behind the scenes on signing Myles Lewis-Skelly alongside a number of other left-back options this summer.
The Man United owners are aiming to hand Luke Shaw some much-needed competition and may yet take full advantage of Lewis-Skelly's discontent.
Having gone from a regular starter last season, the 19-year-old is reportedly ready to ditch the Emirates for a new challenge, which could come at Old Trafford in a huge blow for Arsenal.
Lewis-Skelly in the PL 24/25 25/26
Starts 15 1
Minutes 1,370 312
Tackles P90 1,45 1.15
Chances Created P90 0.53 0.87
Recoveries P90 3.48 4.04
The numbers are damning for the young left-back, who has been limited to just 312 minutes in the Premier League so far this season. And given that Arsenal have both Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie competing for that left-back spot, that game time is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
myles lewis-skelly
That's why Man United could take full advantage. Whilst the defender is being left out in the cold in North London, the likes of Ayden Heaven prove that there's plenty of opportunities at Old Trafford.
Once dubbed a "future captain" by club insider Hand of Arsenal, Lewis-Skelly could now be destined to join a rival club.