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Analysis
- 1 hours ago
Arsenal’s latest defender links indicate where Myles Lewis-Skelly’s future lies
Analysis
Myles Lewis-Skelly has hardly gotten a kick for Arsenal this season after his breakthrough 2024/25 campaign.
He has been linked with a departure, with Real Madrid reported to be eyeing a deal. Many fans were surprised that he was not loaned out in January while fellow Hale End product Ethan Nwaneri was.
Arsenal’s latest links to yet another left-footed defender, this time RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba, might cause some to believe it spells the end for Lewis-Skelly’s time at his boyhood club. The Gunners added left-footed Piero Hincapie in the summer of 2025, and the Ecuadorian’s strong play has given the young Englishman fewer chances.
Current ETV
Castello Lukeba
D (C)
RB Leipzig
Castello Lukeba
D (C)
RB Leipzig
ETV Range
€39.7M - €48.5M
Adding Lukeba as Gabriel’s backup would mean current part-time centre-backs Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori are the main left-back options, which would push Lewis-Skelly out of that position.
But, rather than a change of clubs being on the horizon, Lewis-Skelly could merely be facing a position change away from the inverted left-back role he shone in last season.
With the six-time England international still just 19-years-old, selling him so soon would be a rash decision by the club.
Lewis-Skelly in midfield makes perfect sense
One of Lewis-Skelly’s main struggles this season has been down to positioning, namely knowing when to dash back to left-back from a more central area when Arsenal’s opponents win the ball.
Strong on the ball, an accurate passer, and capable of dribbling through midfield, it makes sense for manager Mikel Arteta to play him in central midfield.
Across his 1,370 minutes in the Premier League in 2024/25, Lewis-Skelly completed 93.6% of his pass attempts, won over three fouls per 90 minutes, and succeeded in a stellar 69.7% of his one-v-one duels.
Current ETV
Myles Lewis-Skelly
D (L), M (C)
Arsenal
Myles Lewis-Skelly
D (L), M (C)
Arsenal
ETV Range
€50.9M - €62.2M
This season, in just 312 league minutes across 14 appearances, his duels won rate has dropped by over 25%, and he now commits as many fouls as he wins.
Lewis-Skelly would massively benefit from a simplification of his responsibilities in the form of staying in midfield, rather than needing to worry about when to cover out wide. Plus, Arsenal could use trustworthy players as alternatives to Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi in the centre of the park, as both players have played over 2,500 minutes out of a possible 2,790 in the league so far.
Lewis-Skelly has not received enough time to find and sustain the form he hit last season, but the talent is there, and his club should do its best to bring it out of him once more.
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