Myles Lewis-Skelly says Arsenal star who hasn’t even played this year is his role model

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Arsenal have produced a number of successful academy graduates in recent years.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is the latest to emerge onto the scene out of Hale End, promoted to the first team this season alongside Ethan Nwaneri.

The central midfielder has been deployed at left-back by Mikel Arteta, and has adapted to the role at senior level seamlessly.

Jurrien Timber has dubbed Lewis-Skelly ‘unbelievable’, with the 18-year-old starting five of the Gunners’ last eight fixtures across all competitions.

The teenager appears to have usurped the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior in the pecking order at left-back, and is now competing with Riccardo Calafiori for the starting spot on a week-to-week basis.

Myles Lewis-Skelly reveals that Bukayo Saka is his idol at Arsenal

Joining Arsenal at the age of eight, Lewis-Skelly has developed through the age groups at Hale End, and has been granted a first-team look in this campaign.

Making his debut against Manchester City in the Premier League back in September, the versatile youngster has fought his way into becoming a regular in recent weeks.

Injuries to the likes of Calafiori, Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu presented him with the opportunity to start against Monaco in the Champions League in December, and he’s not looked back.

Impressing when Arsenal beat Ipswich at the Emirates over the festive period, Declan Rice waxed lyrical about Lewis-Skelly.

Speaking to Goal about his influences as a player, the starlet cited the importance of Bukayo Saka in his development, describing the Arsenal talisman as his ‘role model’.

He said: “It’s felt really good seeing the likes of Bukayo that have helped me come through, it’s been quite a smooth transition.

“The importance of people like that who have come before me have helped me a lot. That’s really helped me out. They’re definitely role models.”

Saka is out for several months with a hamstring injury, and hasn’t featured for the Gunners since mid-December.

Evidently an important figure in the dressing room for the likes of Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, his absence will likely be felt by those who look up to him.

Lewis-Skelly’s statistics are impressive

While there is a limited sample size to work with, the early statistics Lewis-Skelly’s performances have elicited are certainly encouraging.

The Londoner has been incredibly secure in possession, completing 93% of his passes, while he’s beginning to become more adventurous on the ball, completing 4.81 passes into the final third per 90 minutes.

Deployed in a role he’s not been used in throughout his youth career, his defensive work has been excellent, making 3.33 tackles per game.

Development is notoriously not linear, but the early indications are that Lewis-Skelly could become something special.