Myles Lewis-Skelly has had an impressive international break with England.
Starting three of England’s four Nations League games as a central midfielder, he saved his best for last. The Arsenal midfielder produced a commanding performance in the 3-0 win over Czech Republic at Wembley that had Micah Richards calling him one of the best players he has seen at that age.
It’s easy to forget that he’s only six months into playing this position at senior level. The improvements he is making, and the speed at which he is making them, are pretty remarkable for a player who only turned 20 last month.
This weekend he returns to Arsenal with a starting spot to fight for. Bruno Guimaraes was poor at Brighton and the case for Lewis-Skelly starting alongside Declan Rice against Leeds on Saturday is a strong one right now. Of course, Mikel Arteta will make his own call, but the momentum is firmly with the younger man right now.
Amid all of that, though, Lewis-Skelly has been speaking to the media about his fellow teammates, particularly those who perhaps go under the radar a little bit.
Myles Lewis-Skelly says Christos Tzolis ‘can run forever’
In a sit-down feature with the Premier League on YouTube, Lewis-Skelly was asked about how he has got on with Arsenal summer signing Christos Tzolis.
“He’s a mentality monster, his approach to the game, his approach to recovery. It’s refreshing to see,” Lewis-Skelly said.
“He is always doing massages, ice baths, sauna. And it shows on the pitch because he can run forever — credit to him, man.”
Tzolis has already been described as an ‘absolute machine’ by those inside the club, and Lewis-Skelly’s comments only add to that picture from the dressing room.
Unfortunately, the Greek winger picked up a hamstring injury on international duty and is expected to miss the next few weeks. His manager even admitted Tzolis didn’t want to come off, which just says it all about the player’s old-school mentality and determination.
With options rather thin in attack, hopefully we will see him back in action at the Emirates as soon as possible.