Myles Lewis-Skelly has enjoyed a meteoric rise with Arsenal and England this season – and he owes a lot of his recent success to his mentality, as well as his talent
England's Myles Lewis-Skelly celebrates
Myles Lewis-Skelly scored on his England debut (Image: Rob Newell/Getty Images)
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At the start of this season, no-one really saw Myles Lewis-Skelly coming. Apart from maybe, er, Myles Lewis-Skelly. His greatest asset is undoubtedly his self belief, confidence and determination.
This is a player who clearly always believed he could reach the very top. Nothing was going to stop him. Every top player has a touch of arrogance in their make-up. If they don’t believe in themselves, who else will? And I absolutely love it. What a talent, character and fabulous footballer. He is truly amazing. He has got the world at his feet. And he is just 18 years old. His progression this season has been nothing short of incredible.
From making his senior debut last September, starting a Premier League game and then a Champions League game. Then the ultimate accolade was to make his England debut – and then make history by becoming the youngest scorer on their senior debut.
He is a midfielder by trade but has slotted into left-back and been excellent as an inverted left-back who steps into midfield. His game intelligence is on another level. He is super smart. Yes, he has made mistakes – like the red card against West Ham when he overplayed and got himself into trouble – but he will learn from them.
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Lewis-Skelly should really have been sent off for a second yellow card at PSV Eindhoven but got let off the hook and got substituted soon after. But this is where his character comes into play. I am struggling to think of a more intelligent, super-focused and likeable teenager that I have ever spoken to. He is so impressive.
When he does TV interviews, he has a nice manner about him. But can you imagine speaking to the whole nation at 18? Not many enjoy doing it but he is something else.
That clearly comes from his upbringing and guidance. His mum Marcia has helped set up an advice forum for parents of academy kids to help families navigate the pitfalls. That speaks volumes for him and the way he has come through the Arsenal academy.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is the epitome of a modern full-back ( Image: Offside via Getty Images)
His best friend is Ethan Nwaneri and the two of them are still grounded enough to hang out with the other academy starlets in the Arsenal canteen rather than suddenly think of themselves as big-name stars. They are grounded and yet have the mentality to reach the top.
It was interesting to hear Declan Rice talk about Lewis-Skelly and how his Arsenal team-mate had taken Wembley by storm but also handled the attention and limelight. Rice said: “This year the way he stepped up and matured over the summer and the way he's trained with us every day since. It's been incredible. The way he looks after himself, the way he prepares for matches.
“He's such a good kid. He's been brought up really well. His mum's unbelievable for him. She's such a nice lady as well. So it's no surprise that he's doing really well because he's got the right support network around him. He's got people at the club that are pushing him. He's not too comfortable. He knows he needs to keep going.
Myles Lewis-Skelly and his close friend and Arsenal team-mate Ethan Nwaneri (
Image:
Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC)
“Myles is only 18. We can't put that emphasis on him straight away that he's going to be in England and start for the next 10 years. You don't want to put that pressure on him.
"Just let him keep playing and keep enjoying his football. If he wants to keep being hungry and being the best he can be, he can definitely have a long England career for sure.”
That just goes to show that Lewis-Skelly is on the way to stardom – and his team-mates believe he will get there.
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