Arsenal are on the cusp of history. They are level with Atletico Madrid ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening, and a 3-3 draw for Manchester City meant they resumed the initiative in the race for the Premier League.
The pressure is higher than ever before for the Gunners with so much at stake, but cool heads and brave personalities make the difference on the pitch. So, despite his minimal match time for the first team this campaign, could Myles Lewis-Skelly be a difference maker for the side in this showdown?
Rewarding risk takers
Arsenal got the perfect preparation under their belts for this fixture: Viktor Gyokeres grabbed a brace either side of a Bukayo Saka strike to seal a 3-0 win for the Gunners within 45 minutes.
The triumph against the Cottagers came with a big development in the engine room. Martin Odegaard and Martin Zubimendi sat out of action, and a more bullish approach appeared.
Declan Rice remained as a six, reprising the role he fulfilled for West Ham earlier in his career. He also played in a deeper position against Atletico at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano last week, hoovering up danger in the transition with his immense athleticism and defensive intelligence.
That security stabilises the midfield department to a point where Arteta can take more risks further afield. Sometimes that has looked like Odegaard and Eberechi Eze engaging together in central roles, and on the weekend, it was Lewis-Skelly who shone with his progressive attitude in midfield.
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The teenager excels at finding separation, drawing fouls from opponents and punching through midfield lines through a mixture of positive passing and brave ball carrying. These traits saw him stand out in his breakthrough season and have too seldom been seen on the field this campaign.
Arteta has trusted Lewis-Skelly to start just three Premier League fixtures this season: once as a last-minute replacement for Riccardo Calafiori against Brighton at the end of December 2025, once in rotation against Bournemouth at left back, and for the first time as a midfielder on the weekend.
It is sensible not to rely too much on a player still honing his craft in the men’s game when more senior options are available to play in both positions. However, his track record from the first half of 2025 speaks for itself, and in another campaign where injuries have affected Arsenal during the run-in, more minutes for the 19-year-old could have lessened the severity of the side’s problems.
There are also debates to have about the balance of units from which Lewis-Skelly has been absent. Even though Saka, Ben White and Odegaard have been in and out of action from a fluctuating right flank, the left side has not clearly emerged with answers in the final third. Beyond the connection between Leandro Trossard and Calafiori, chemistry can be still lacking as well as carrying finesse.
Further afield, fitness and fatigue have affected Odegaard and Zubimendi, and there is also the feeling that a midfield trio finished off by Rice can lack the forward thrust to be inventive in ball possession.
This approach has helped Arsenal reach this stage of the season, but the final leap for the Gunners may mean loosening the proverbial handbrake a little more than many would perceive as the norm.
Energising the Emirates
Though the tie is locked level, many would say that Arsenal are the favourites to progress to the final. The home advantage is a one of the factors behind that consensus, but that is not a cut-and-dry matter.
Arsenal are a club continually haunted by the weight of history. They have been runners-up in the Premier League in the last three campaigns, finalists in the Carabao Cup final in March, and semi-finalists in the Champions League last May. The shadow of the Cityzens has stalked over attempts to break domestic hoodoos, and European giants have reminded them of their position on the continent.
It is up to the team to embrace the task of making new memories and rewriting history, but that collective challenge has not always played out in the best possible way. From the questionable tifo against PSG last year to the infamous rallying cry from Arteta pre-Bournemouth, fans can fail to be invigorated into life if those who have most control over the result do not follow up on their words.
Supporters can stimulate players, but it is the team first and foremost that must fire up the fans. So those who have the innate desire to take risks and be courageous can tap into the twelfth man.
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It is an impact that has been tangible with Eze in recent weeks. Goals against Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle United have highlighted his sharpness as a finisher from the top of the box while he was a bright spark against Sporting and Atletico with his creativity, a positive, forward-thinking mindset.
Lewis-Skelly similarly can stir up supporters with this inclination in possession, not to mention the emotions he invokes as a proud member of Hale End. The emergence of Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri was one of the few clear positives for the team in an underwhelming 2024/25 campaign. The subsequent fate of the pair paints a symbolic picture of where some fans feel Arteta is going wrong.
Chants of '49, 49, Lewis-Skelly’ reverberated around the Emirates on the weekend, and the crowd will back one of their own passionately if he features on Tuesday. But it is not blind faith in his ability: he has already proven himself on the big stage. Indeed, he was the one to break open the field against Atletico in the league phase of the Champions League to assist Gabriel Martinelli.
After a summer of significant squad expansion, Arsenal have been establishing other weapons, and the hottest hand in the ten position is Eze right now. Odegaard operates more as a controller, but the eagerness among some factions of fans to shift away from reliance on the club captain can be seen as a want to be excited by players whose on-ball attitude mimics the same dare to dream from the stands.
If that trait is what is needed to get over the line, then Lewis-Skelly provides it in abundance.