It was another night of learning for the Hale End academy stars as both Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly started for Arsenal in their Champions League knockout match with PSV Eindhoven.
The pair have progressed plenty in the past few months, moving from promising stars to genuine first-team options.
That in itself has eased the injury crisis slightly for Mikel Arteta, which could be crucial to the Champions League campaign ahead.
While Arsenal won 7-1 against PSV in an absolute thrashing, there were points at which both Hale End academy graduates could take some key learning points.
Particularly for Myles Lewis-Skelly, who had a more difficult night than most at the Phillips Stadion.
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Myles Lewis-Skelly responds after a difficult Champions League display
One thing that came from the PSV clash was that Myles Lewis-Skelly may have been fortunate to avoid a red card for Arsenal.
The youngster started at left-back once again but picked up an early yellow card that put him on a disciplinary tightrope quickly.
His task wasn’t made much easier when a foul just moments later saw the PSV players asking for a possible red card.
Given Lewis-Skelly’s recent red card record, it seemed sensible that Mikel Arteta would bring the youngster off to avoid another possible twist in the game.
In the end, it didn’t matter for Arsenal as they raced on towards a 7-1 thrashing, coming as a huge boost.
It also provides an environment for young players to make mistakes and not have them become quite as costly as they could be.
Taking to Instagram after the game, Lewis-Skelly posted a photo of himself with teammate Ethan Nwaneri with the caption: “Step by step.”
The comments were filled with support for the youngster, with Eddie Nketiah simply commenting: “Truth.”
Declan Rice added an emoji of a graph trending upwards, while Arsenal academy duo Khayon Edwards and Max Dowman commented hearts in response.
It shows the support which is there for the youngster, who is already playing in a position that isn’t totally natural, but he is taking it in his stride.
Ian Wright on Myles Lewis-Skelly position
It’s worth keeping in mind that all of these impressive performances for Lewis-Skelly have come from a position he isn’t used to.
While he has looked relatively comfortable as a left-back, he has often played as a midfielder when coming through the youth ranks.
With the struggles he faced on Tuesday night, Arsenal legend Ian Wright came to his defence when speaking about his position.
Speaking on Wrighty’s House, he said: “You know something? He’s a number-eight man. You could see that all day long.”
Whether he makes the transition into that position soon is unclear, but for now he has plenty more learning to do in a position he could make his own anyway.
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