Lewis-Skelly, born just around the corner from Arsenal’s homes past and present of Highbury and the Emirates. Growing up in the North London suburb of Islington
He was quickly picked up by the Gunners’ scouts and was first drafted into their academy setup at the age of nine.
By the time he had turned 14, Lewis-Skelly was already going viral with his exploits for Arsenal’s Under-18s, several years above his own age group.
Having made his debut off the bench against Reading, he proceeded to dance his way past several trailing bodies before planting a shot into the top corner with a thunderous finish.
Lewis-Skelly became team-mates and close friends with fellow future first-team star Ethan Nwaneri, blazing a trail of glory on their road from adolescent acclaim to the senior side.
They notably formed a core part of the Arsenal side that reached the 2023 FA Youth Cup final, with Lewis-Skelly scoring a 121st-minute winner against Manchester City in the semis. Only an incredible West Ham side prevented them from lifting the trophy.
In the modern era, few managers will set up their team with full-backs playing in a traditionally conventional sense. For almost all of football’s history, they were designed to stay back for cover, but also provide added width.
That’s all changed now, however. The world is looking beyond the flying full-back, the faux winger, the ones who get chalk on their boots and nip to the byline. Football is now an inside game. There isn’t any real need to be ‘old man yells at cloud’ about this, though. The game is as tactically advanced as its ever been, bringing about new ideas, new roles and new sorts of players.
Over in North London, Arsenal are nurturing a prototype of a full-back who inverts into midfield, having played in central areas for much of his youth. Myles Lewis-Skelly is already making waves at the Emirates Stadium despite only turning 18 over the autumn, and even though the Gunners are in the harsh spotlight of a title race and the expectation for major honours, he’s in the perfect place for nurturing.
Such was Lewis-Skelly’s success at youth level that Arsenal supporters have been chomping at the bit to see him thrust into the first-team fold for years already. There was talk he could have played down the stretch of the Gunners’ ultimately unsuccessful 2023-24 Premier League title charge, but he had to wait until this campaign to get the nod from Mikel Arteta.
Following on from his debut, Lewis-Skelly has been an almost ever-present in Arteta’s matchday squads, only missing out on three games due to a minor injury.
He has maintained his cool since propelling himself into the XI, with that discrepancy at City still his only yellow card in Premier League action.
A Champions League debut has also followed, with Arsenal well positioned to go on a deep run in Europe.
