Mikel Arteta admitted that he has been putting Myles Lewis-Skelly through his paces behind the scenes at Arsenal as the academy graduate has broken back into the plans for the month of May.
The 19-year-old was a breakout star last year, starring at left back as a progressive presence on the biggest stage against the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. However, he has been a more marginal presence behind Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie in the position this season.
The role of the left back is no longer as deep and central as had previously been the case, but many still felt that Lewis-Skelly had something to offer to the side. That conversation became even louder as Martin Zubimendi started to struggle with his form and Christian Norgaard was not trusted as an experienced backup to relieve the burden from the summer signing in the middle of the park.
‘You have to navigate through that’
After just two starts for the side this campaign in the Premier League from fullback against Brighton and Bournemouth, he reannounced himself in his natural role as a midfielder. An impressive display next to Declan Rice was a key component of a comfortable 3-0 triumph over Fulham last weekend.
The manager then trusted the player to remain in an unchanged midfield as Arsenal won 1-0 against Atletico Madrid in their Champions League semi-final second leg. Beloved by the fans at the Emirates Stadium, 19-year-old deserves to grace the pitch. The key question on everyone’s minds is why it has taken so long to see him in such a role of responsibility, and Arteta explained himself.
“I need to push Myles Lewis-Skelly hard, to understand how he's feeling. He's a boy that was playing with the under-18s, under-21s, sometimes he wasn't even playing, he was playing in a different position. He comes in, he comes through, he plays in a completely different position that he's ever played before, he's exceptional, everybody's talking about him, he goes to the national team.
“He comes back from pre-season, and then he starts to realise that maybe he's not going to be a starter. You need to go through those emotions, not only you, but the people next to you, the people that are giving you advice. You have to navigate through that, and that's not easy, I understand that.
“It's easy when it goes so well for you, but when it goes the other way, the temptation is going to start to point to people. I need to understand that, and I need to guide him, and give him my perspective, the reasons why he wasn't playing that much, and he took it on board. Not the first one, after three or four times, I think he realised, OK, I think if it’s not this way, I don't think it's going to happen.
“It has been a process of, probably understanding [Myles] better, him understanding as well the standards that are required when you play or don't play that much at this level, to understand the reasons why you play or don't play as well.
“Then he has been exceptional, his attitude, the way he has been trained, the way he's been supporting the boys when he has not played, and he's given us every sign to think that when we were going to give him the chance, he was going to respond in the manner that he has done it.
“But after he has done it, and it is not easy, especially when you have not played that much, to look that confident, that energetic, that playing with that determination, it is something that is surprising.”