Mikel Arteta hinted he has made a mistake with Myles Lewis-Skelly this season after the Arsenal teenager impressed in his side’s 3-0 win over Fulham.
The Gunners heaped the pressure on Manchester City within the race for the Premier League title by opening up a six-point gap at the highest of the table and establishing goal difference advantage.
With the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid finely poised, Arteta opted to make significant changes to his starting line-up on Saturday evening probably the most notable of which saw Lewis-Skelly make a primary start in central midfield.
The Hale End Academy graduate made a surprising breakthrough last season as a makeshift left-back together with his performances in that position rewarded with senior England recognition.
It has been a distinct story this term for the 19-year-old who has been forced to play a bit-part role following the arrival of Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen who has shared the left-back role with Riccardo Calafiori.
Martin Zubimendi’s consistency, meanwhile, has meant Arteta had been hesitant handy opportunities to Lewis-Skelly in his more natural position until yesterday evening when his gamble was rewarded with an eye catching display.
And after watching the teenager impress against seasoned Premier League opposition, Arteta admitted he can have made an error in holding back a player whose lack of game time has seen him linked with a move to Manchester United in the summertime.
‘He fully deserves it,’ said the Arsenal manager reflecting on Lewis-Skelly’s performance in a new-look engine room. ‘I’ve been tough on him.
‘He had a spectacular season last 12 months when he jumped into the primary team. He had some difficult moments after that, but he stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we desired to do, and I knew he was ready.
‘He’s been showing in training on daily basis the opportunities that he needed to play. He’s done it and today he really stepped up and I believed he had an incredible performance.’
Asked why it had taken him so long to present Lewis-Skelly a likelihood to impress in midfield, he added:’Because probably I don’t have a clue and possibly I must have done it earlier, I don’t know.
‘But I actually have to do things once I consider that the player is prepared, the team is prepared and the opponent is the fitting one to play with him in that position. We’ve done it today, it’s the primary time.
‘It was a giant risk because I knew what was going to occur, if he wasn’t this great, we’d have lost the sport.
‘How do you play a child at this age, on this scenario, ready that he hasn’t played all season? I knew that but I had the sensation that it was the fitting game for him.’
Reports last month claimed Arsenal were seeking to net a combined total of £100million for Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri who has spent the second half of the season out on loan at Marseille.
While there could be a measure of conjecture about his future, Lewis-Skelly hardly looked like a player discontent with life at his current club after he played such a key role in an important win.
He said: ‘Truthfully, I used to be buzzing. Being back in that midfield, getting the trust from the gaffer and the players again, just allows me to play my game and play it easy but additionally be effective, which was really good today.
‘It’s hugely necessary for me to set that tone. If you’re in midfield, there’s a certain rally you’ve gotten to achieve, which is to set the tone, get the engine of the team going. I believed I did a great job of that today.
‘It’s a credit to all our players because after we’re all on the identical wavelength, we’re really feeling it, fidgeting with synergy, fidgeting with that energy together. I feel like we’re one.’
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