Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly
Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly (Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Arsenal's rising star Myles Lewis-Skelly was so excited by his England call-up that he ran around his house shouting in unconfined euphoria.
Lewis-Skelly reported for Three Lions duty on the back of the Gunners’ 1-0 win against Chelsea which crowned the most memorable week of his football life to date.
The teenager who was wrongly shown the red card at Wolves, and then dismissed against West Ham a month later, has has a rollercoaster 2025.
But Lewis-Skelly has made a big impression since breaking into the first team picture at the Emirates and, along with fellow academy graduate Ethan Nwaneri, his performances suggest Arsenal's route to winning the title does not lie exclusively with big-money transfers.
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But his England call-up was deserved reward for the pace, strength and durability he has brought to a position where he has leapfrogged Riccardo Calafiori, Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the Arsenal pecking order.
He said: “It's all I can ask for - I’m just so grateful to the team for entrusting me and the boss entrusting me, and I can repay them and be the best version of myself.
“I’m buzzing,” he said of his inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s first Three Lions squad. “Honesty I was so elated, just shouting around my house!
“Obviously I'm excited for what's coming up, but you’ve always got to stay locked in on the present and not get too attached to the feeling that’s coming later down the line.”
Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri
Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri have become important players for Arsenal
Lewis-Skelly, still only 18, was rock-solid against Chelsea as he contributed to a sixth clean sheet as part of the Gunners’ starting XI this season.
He said: “It was a hard-fought win. We had to face a low block a lot in this game, but as a team we can suffer together. Sometimes you’ve got to suffer and we did that well, we were comfortable.
“We knew from the jump that we had to win our battles and win our duels. It's a given, especially in a derby like this.”
Arsenal, who have the best defensive record in the Premier League this season, moved back to within 12 points of leaders Liverpool with nine games remaining.
Mikel Merino’s winner against Chelsea was the Gunners’ first goal from a set piece in 12 games after scoring 12 league goals from dead-ball restarts in 21 matches earlier in the campaign.
Myles Lewis-Skelly in despair after red card
Seeing red: Lewis-Skelly is sent off against West Ham ( Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
It was a change of emphasis in their approach at corners, where the Gunners used to overload the back post and centre-back Gabriel was the main beneficiary of the chaos.
But makeshift No.9 Merino’s winner was simple execution of a near-post corner routine, stealing a march on marker Christopher Nkunku to glance the winner in a largely drab contest.
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