As the dust settled on Arsenal’s most comfortable league win since February’s north London derby, the question on many lips was why it took Mikel Arteta so long to give Myles Lewis-Skelly a chance in central midfield?
The 19-year-old was only told he’d start in place of Martin Zubimendi when the players arrived at the Emirates – an unusual decision by the manager – but he immediately took the game by the scruff of the neck, keeping Arsenal ticking over with neat work on the ball and winning more duels (seven) than anyone in red and white.
Having come through Hale End as a midfielder, there has always been an expectation that Lewis-Skelly get his chance in the centre of the park. Certainly, having fallen down the left-back pecking order, a position he made his own last year, there’s been a clamour for it to happen. For whatever reason, possibly his inherent conservatism, Arteta has resisted the temptation. In fact, Lewis-Skelly’s lack of minutes this campaign has led to suggestions he could even leave the club in the summer.
As the pair shared a long embrace at full-time, there was nothing to suggest relations between the pair were strained. If anything, it looked the opposite.
“That’s the boss, I’m grateful for him,” Lewis-Skelly told Sky Sports. “That shows our connection is strong.”
“Inside I was buzzing, but I was just glad the manager put his trust in me [to play in midfield].”
In his post-game press conference, Arteta admitted he’d “been tough” on Lewis-Skelly this season.
While 31 appearances are not insignificant, he has played around 1,000 fewer minutes than in his breakthrough campaign, when he rose from academy prospect to full England international. At one stage, he looked a strong candidate for Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, but his reduced role at Arsenal has complicated that.
“He had a spectacular season last year when he jumped into the first team, but he had some difficult moments after that,” explained Arteta.
“He stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we wanted to do, and I knew he was ready.
“He’s been showing in training every day the opportunities that he had to play. He’s done it, and today he really stepped up, and I thought he had an incredible performance.”
As for why it’s taken so long to roll the dice on Lewis-Skelly in midfield, Arteta said:
“Because probably I don’t have a clue, and maybe I should have done it earlier, I don’t know.
“But I have to do things when I believe that the player is ready, the team is ready, and the opponent is the right one to play with him in that position.
“We’ve done it today, it’s the first time. It was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen; if he wasn’t this great, we would have lost the game.
“How do you play a kid at this age, in this scenario, in a position that he hasn’t played all season? I knew that, but I had the feeling that it was the right game for him.”
Reflecting on how he has handled a challenging second season, Lewis-Skelly said:
“I pride myself on being mentally tough. In this journey, there are ups and downs, it’s how you view them, as setbacks or stepping stones. For me, it’s staying ready, being a good teammate, and when I do everything right off the pitch, opportunities will come. For them, you’ve got to stay present, in the moment and be ready.
And on his performance, he told Arsenal.com: “It’s hugely important for me to set that tone. When you’re in midfield, there’s a certain rate you have to attain, which is to set the tone, get the engine of the team going. I thought I did a good job of that today.
“It’s a credit to all our players because when we’re all on the same wavelength, we’re really feeling it, playing with synergy, playing with that energy together. I feel like we’re one.”
The question now is whether Arteta turns to him again in the run-in. There is no hiding from the fact Martin Zubimendi has looked fatigued in the second half of the season. The Spain international has carried a heavy load since arriving from Real Sociedad, and with 52 appearances and more than 4,000 minutes to his name, a dip was perhaps inevitable.
That he was able to spend the first 68 minutes on the bench suggests Arteta is managing him with Tuesday’s visit of Atletico in mind. In the meantime, Lewis-Skelly has given the manager something to think about.
“He’s given Mikel a major headache because he gave you that energy,” said Paul Merson on Sky Sports.
“He lifted everybody, he played on the front foot, he got close to people.
“I’m a big fan of Zubimendi’s, but he’s been chasing the games recently. He nearly gets there – this lad was tight.
“Those simple passes give your top players that make everything tick together. I don’t think Zubimendi’s been doing that recently.”
Jamie Redknapp offered a similar view: “If he does or doesn’t start against Atletico Madrid, what he has done is given Mikel Arteta a good problem.
“If he doesn’t start, what he has shown is if things aren’t going well in that game, he’s going to be one of the Arsenal manager’s go-to guys.”
Back in the studio, the pair joked with Lewis-Skelly that he might have used that post-match embrace to press his case with the manager.
He laughed it off. “We’ll have to wait and see for that.”