Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal finished the 2024/25 Premier League in second place – and things could go from bad to worse as contract talks with representatives of Myles Lewis-Skelly have reportedly not been going well. Real Madrid are also in the picture.
Losing out to Liverpool on this occasion, the north Londoners are running the risk of becoming the English top flight’s nearlymen as they’ve placed second for three seasons on the trot – and retaining their best players will be crucial to future success.
Lewis-Skelly, 18, will be central to Arteta – widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football – and his entourage, but there are growing concerns that he could leave in the coming months as his current contract expires in the summer.
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An engine room operator by trade, the London-born 18-year-old emerged as one of the best teenagers in world football in the season just gone. He also became the youngest player to score on his senior debut for England after scoring against Albania.
Arteta and his entourage are locked in contract talks with the Hale End graduate and GIVEMESPORT’s Fabrizio Romano, in February, insisted that the club were ‘progressing well’ in talks with Lewis-Skelly and his partner in crime, Ethan Nwaneri.
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Lewis-Skelly put pen to paper on his first professional contract in 2022 and that’s set to expire in 2026 unless both parties can find a breakthrough in talks. Given how important he is to proceedings, his employers are seeking to tie him down beyond next year.
Since, however, journalist Jonathan Wilson has provided a worrying update on the up-and-coming world beater. Speaking on Guardian Sport’s ‘Football Weekly’ podcast, he claimed that Los Blancos were hovering around amid his contract talks.
“They’ve [Arsenal] got to sort out Myles Lewis-Skelly’s contract, which expires next summer and I think talks have not been going well from what I hear, and Real Madrid are sort of sniffing around there.”
Referencing Trent Alexander-Arnold’s inevitable move to the Spanish behemoths after he ran down his contract at Liverpool, Wilson continued: “Imagine Real Madrid wanting a highly-rated Premier League full-back for free – almost unimaginable, isn’t it?”
In 2024/25 alone, Lewis-Skelly played 42 times for the Gunners – which includes 23 outings in the Premier League – and notched four goal involvements (one goal and three assists) in that time. Watch a highlight reel of the teenage phenom below:
Rather than being utilised in the midfield, Arsenal boss Arteta has been adamant that the 2006-born star is more suited to the left-back berth, which then allows him to make use of his power and guile when inverting into the centre of the park.
Real Madrid are now going through a transition period from the wily veteran Carlo Ancelotti to the less experienced but more tactically flexible Xabi Alonso – and Lewis-Skelly could be the Spaniard’s long-term solution on the left of their back four.