Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly received a suspension in the Gunners’ last Premier League game against West Ham.
During the match, the 18-year-old left-back was shown a red card which will cause him to miss two Premier League games, including this weekend against Manchester United.
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Lewis-Skelly has seen a breakout into the Arsenal team this season under Arteta. He’s made 22 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners, scoring one goal against Manchester City.
However, the West Ham red card was his second of the season, and it could potentially be something that Arsenal need to look at in the future.
Arteta needs to develop Lewis-Skelly’s tackling ability
For many, it would seem that Lewis-Skelly’s ‘rashness’ in challenges is simply due to his inexperience, which may be the case. However, it could also be down to a change that Arteta made in his youth career.
The 18-year-old grew up playing as a centre-midfielder, and played in midfield during his time in the Arsenal academy. It was only when Arteta requested it, that Lewis-Skelly became a left-back.
It is clear that Lewis-Skelly has the ability when attacking, as he is able to sprint down the wing with the ball and create chances. He’s been able to develop a partnership with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the left-hand side.
In an interview in the Autumn with BBC Sport, Mikel Arteta said: “The moment that I saw him the only thing that I could think was to change his position.
“I spoke to him and said this is where you’re going to have a chance. It fits a lot his quality and the way we play because we had necessities in the position and we started to work on that. He bought into it strength away with the personality that he has.”
However, seeing as Lewis-Skelly has struggled with fouling players this season, it seems that his defensive ability needs to be worked on, if not, he could switch back the centre-midfield.
Lewis-Skelly could replace Thomas Partey
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is due to leave the club in the summer transfer window due to his contract at the club expiring.
The defensive midfield position will need to be filled following Partey’s departure, and it is something that Lewis-Skelly could do.
He has the ability to create chances as we’ve seen, but there would be less pressure on his tackling as he would spend less time as the ‘last man’ in Arsenal’s defence.
The easing of that pressure might free up Lewis-Skelly when he’s making tackles, and could help him to be more patient and less rash in his challenges.
Click here to see our player profile for Myles Lewis-Skelly and how he became a top player for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.