Mikel Arteta has doubled down on the future of Myles Lewis-Skelly, saying that he is “100 per cent” confident that the teenager will not leave Arsenal this summer. (Image: PA)
Mikel Arteta has doubled down on the future of Myles Lewis-Skelly, saying that he is “100 per cent” confident that the teenager will not leave Arsenal this summer. (Image: PA)
Mikel Arteta has doubled down on the future of Myles Lewis-Skelly, saying that he is “100 per cent” confident that the teenager will not leave Arsenal this summer.
The 19-year-old has been at the centre of transfer speculation in recent weeks after reports suggested that he had been offered to both Manchester United and Chelsea through intermediaries.
Arsenal have rebuffed the idea that such an offer was made to the two clubs. Lewis-Skelly has since performed to a glorious standard, scoring in the 1-1 friendly draw with Como last week and executing an outstanding pass for Riccardo Calafiori’s early opener in the 3-0 Community Shield win over Manchester City on Sunday.
Asked at his press conference if he was confident Lewis-Skelly would remain an Arsenal player between now and the end of the transfer window, Arteta replied: “100 per cent.”
After another summer of considerable expenditure on the likes of Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimaraes, Arteta was asked about the importance for clubs to keep academy graduates in spite of the financial benefit of those sales going down as pure profit under the guidance of Premier League rules and regulations.
“Certainly. The players that have been raised in our system and genuinely feel that love and connection with the club bring something else. There is no question about that.
“We need to look after them in a really special way because they bring value that is very difficult to find. That’s why, when we can, we want to protect those assets as much as possible. Develop them and make them extremely important for the club.”
Arteta insisted that there had been no movement on the futures of Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri, despite reports earlier in the month implying that both players could be sold before the window closes in two weeks.
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are both “ready to be involved”, but summer signing Guimaraes is being monitored after being pictured nursing his thigh with an ice pack after being substituted at half-time against Manchester City on Sunday.
“Let’s see how he is, but he’s evolving very well.”
The Arsenal manager also confirmed that defender Jurrien Timber is not yet training with the group. The defender withdrew from the Netherlands’ World Cup squad before the tournament had begun and has featured just once for the Gunners since March, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute in the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.