Jurrien Timber has a new nickname for Myles Lewis-Skelly after Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace

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Among all the excellent Arsenal performances against Crystal Palace, perhaps Myles Lewis-Skelly delivered the most understated display in south London.

Lewis-Skelly was rested for Arsenal’s mid-week win over Palace in the EFL Cup, a sign of how far he’s come at the Emirates Stadium.

But with the title race back on the line at Selhurst Park, Mikel Arteta turned to his 18-year-old gem, who has rocketed in importance given Arsenal’s injuries at the back.

Against Palace, Arsenal did have Riccardo Calafiori back fit on the bench, who replaced Lewis-Skelly after 58 minutes.

But it was testament to the Hale End Academy youngster that he kept his starting spot in the side regardless – Arteta wasn’t tempted to start Calafiori immediately.

Myles Lewis-Skelly gets new Arsenal nickname after Crystal Palace thrashing

Right now, it would seem as if Arteta is still protecting Lewis-Skelly somewhat, a player he often substitutes early even when he’s playing well, given his need to adapt physically.

But when he was on the pitch during Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Palace, Lewis-Skelly certainly didn’t look insufficient in any capacity.

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The midfielder turned left-back was so authoritative on the ball, and was bringing a calmness to Arsenal’s passing at the back when the likes of David Raya and William Saliba were making uncharacteristic mistakes.

That being said, Lewis-Skelly took to Instagram to celebrate the win and his own performance following full-time at Selhurst Park.

Lewis-Skelly uploaded a photo celebrating one of Gabriel Jesus’ goals alongside a caption of: “+3 points. Together.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the post went down well with the Arsenal players, with both Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber showing their support with their replies.

In fact, Timber perhaps gave Lewis-Skelly a new nickname writing: ‘Young king’, a clever alternative to ‘star boy’, which is owned by another Arsenal academy graduate.

Can Raheem Sterling replace Bukayo Saka at Arsenal?

Of course, it wasn’t only good news for Arsenal in south London, Bukayo Saka picked up a worrying injury in the win.

Arteta gave a Saka injury update following full-time against Palace, but it seems as if a bit of time will be needed to discover the full extent of the issue.

Unfortunately, Raheem Sterling is also injured – an update Arteta gave before a ball was kicked on Saturday evening.

Fans in N17 will be hoping that Sterling’s issue is only minor given how important he may now be if Saka is missing for a significant period.

Paul Merson thought Sterling had more potential at Arsenal, and he may now get the chance to prove it during the busy festive period to come, should he return to fitness.