Arsenal might have found their next big academy star in Myles Lewis-Skelly | OneFootball

Teenager following in the footsteps of Bukayo Saka starred against Monaco and looks set for a bright future

It felt fitting that on a night when Bukayo Saka inspired Arsenal to victory, another academy graduate announced themselves on the big stage for the first time.

Despite being just 18, Lewis-Skelly was picked at left-back and in doing so became the youngest player to start a Champions League game for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2011.

The teenager only found out on Wednesday lunchtime that he was starting, but that did not faze him.

Stepping up: Myles Lewis-Skelly impressed at left-back in Wednesday’s Champions League win against Monaco

Adam Davy/PA Wire

He told a few of his family members, swearing them to secrecy, before putting in a performance that will see him push for more starts going forward.

Lewis-Skelly misplaced just two of his 47 passes, with his 97 per cent accuracy the best by an Arsenal teenager in a Champions League game since Johan Djourou against Hamburg in 2006.

“This is his level,” said Saka. “He needs to have no doubts and play with confidence.

Lewis-Skelly has a long way to go to match Saka’s exploits, but there are some similarities with the way they burst onto the scene.

Saka was tasked with playing left-back when he first came through and Lewis-Skelly is now doing the same after excelling as a midfielder for Arsenal’s academy teams.

His transition to left-back has been impressive and he offers so much of what Mikel Arteta wants from a player in that role. Lewis-Skelly is an aggressive, front-footed defender and Arteta is a huge fan of his personality.

He may have truly announced himself on Wednesday night, but he caught the eye on his debut earlier this season when squaring up to Erling Haaland.

“He is a competitor,” said Arteta. “You look at him, in every duel he goes, the way he reacts with his team-mates, you speak to him it’s constantly eye contact.”

Lewis-Skelly is good on the ball too, though, and that is what makes him able to invert into midfield from left-back.

Making the grade: Lewis-Skelly is an aggressive, front-footed defender and Mikel Arteta is a huge fan of his personality

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

No more was that evident than for Arsenal’s opening goal on Wednesday night. Picking the ball up inside Monaco’s half, Lewis-Skelly skipped past an opposing attacker before finding Gabriel Jesus with a perfect pass between the centre-back and right-back.

“I want to play into my strengths, which is getting past players and being composed on the ball,” said Lewis-Skelly. “I got away from my man well and then saw Gabby.

“We work [on it] in training and him peeling off and playing in between the lines, and then Bukayo reading it for a team goal. It was good.”

Lewis-Skelly joined Arsenal when he was eight years old and at the same time as Ethan Nwaneri, who has also broken into the first team this season.

The pair have risen through the ranks together, and it is often said at Arsenal that you cannot talk about Nwaneri without mentioning Lewis-Skelly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they both made their senior debut for England in the same game, because honestly their journeys have literally gone parallel,” Dan Micciche, who coached the duo at youth level for Arsenal, told Standard Sport.

Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri routinely played in the older age groups, such was the speed of their development.

When they were 14 they were playing in the Under-18s and aged 16 they had starring roles in Arsenal’s run to the FA Youth Cup final in 2023.

Lewis-Skelly caught the eye at the base of midfield and that is where Jack Wilshere, who coached him at U18 level, believes he will end up.

Chances: Lewis-Skelly looks set for more opportunities at Arsenal this season

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

During Arsenal’s pre-season tour to the USA last summer, though, Arteta and his staff’s theory that he could be used at left-back was confirmed.

“He opened our eyes to say I’m ready, the same as Ethan,” said Arteta. “He feels comfortable in this environment, they can perform.”

It may well be that Lewis-Skelly ends up returning to his natural position of midfield, with Arteta believing he can play as a No6 or No8. Saka trod the same path, moving back to winger after breaking into the team at left-back.

For now, though, Lewis-Skelly will just relish the chance to play anywhere and, given Arsenal’s injury issues in defence, he may get plenty more opportunities.

Not that he will let it get to his head. Those at Arsenal speak of how grounded Lewis-Skelly is and that is down to his upbringing. From an early age, his family encouraged him to write gratitude notes as a way of appreciating what he has. Lewis-Skelly is now a level-headed individual and that is impressive given the hype around him.

He was 11 when agents first contacted his parents. A year later he was being offered boot deals. At 14, Arsenal wanted to tie him down to scholarship terms two years early.

That offer was respectfully declined, not because Lewis-Skelly didn’t want to sign for Arsenal, but because his parents believed it would be more beneficial if he had two more years working towards a goal instead of having it handed to him early.

Lewis-Skelly became a scholar at 16, as is the conventional way, and on his 17th birthday signed his first professional contract with Arsenal. On the evidence of Wednesday night, it won’t be his last.