Lee Dixon has made his call on one of Mikel Arteta’s toughest selection dilemmas for the Champions League final.
Arsenal fans are debating whether Martin Zubimendi or Myles Lewis-Skelly should start on Saturday against PSG.
Former Arsenal and England full-back Lee Dixon would go with Lewis-Skelly.
Speaking to The Athletic, he was asked about the decision facing Arteta in central midfield.
“It’s a big call. But I’d probably play Myles,” Dixon said. “I think he’s already shown enough not to be fazed by that.”
🤔 Who starts the Champions League final in midfield: Myles Lewis-Skelly or Martin Zubimendi?
Lewis-Skelly has undergone a remarkable turnaround in the space of a few weeks.
As recently as April, the teenager was third-choice left-back and potentially available for transfer this summer.
Now, following standout performances against Fulham and Atletico Madrid in central midfield, he is firmly in the conversation to start the biggest game in Arsenal’s history.
Dixon was full of praise for what he has seen from the 19-year-old in those two performances.
“I can’t say I was surprised because I think I knew he could do it. It was an opportunity born out of Mikel needing something, and he got it in bucketloads.
“His control, his awareness of players around him — he was my man of the match, and possibly in both games.”
Zubimendi, on the other hand, had been one of Arsenal’s key players earlier in the season but has struggled for form in recent months, losing his place to Lewis-Skelly in the process.
The Spaniard is an experienced international and a reliable presence in midfield, but Dixon’s instinct is that this moment belongs to the younger man.
Why Myles Lewis-Skelly should start the Champions League final
PSG’s man-to-man pressing system out of possession is, perhaps counterintuitively, tailor-made for Lewis-Skelly to exploit.
His mobility and dynamism in one-on-one situations allows him to create angles for himself that Zubimendi simply cannot match.
Where Zubimendi is measured and positional, Lewis-Skelly can drive through pressure, bounce opponents off him and find pockets of space in tight areas.
This is our Arsenal XI for the Champions League final vs PSG. What changes would you make?
Defensively, if Lewis-Skelly can use his physicality maturely, staying on his feet rather than diving into tackles, he also offers more than Zubimendi in that department.
It is a nuanced point, but an important one against a PSG side that will look to exploit any gaps left by a midfielder who commits too early.
He may have started just one Premier League game before April and lost his place in the England squad as a result, but Lewis-Skelly is the better option here.
Dixon believes another five games in midfield would have strengthened his case for the World Cup too. That ship has sailed for now.
But on Saturday night in Budapest, Lewis-Skelly has the chance to write an even bigger chapter.
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