Per Mertesacker is one of the biggest reasons why Arsenal’s academy has been so good over the years.
The German has done a remarkable job with the youth setup, and he has helped create a path for the kids to make it into the first team.
Bukayo Saka got there before anyone else in the current squad, and the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman have all followed in his footsteps.
Mertesacker has now shed some light on how he helped develop one of them – Lewis-Skelly.
If you were Myles Lewis-Skelly, what would you do in the January transfer window after barely playing this season?
He needs to play to get into the England World Cup squad!
Per Mertesacker says Myles Lewis-Skelly has bulldozed through midfields since he was a kid
Lewis-Skelly joined Arsenal when he was just eight years old.
The youngster has always been a Gooner, and he played a key role in multiple age groups while coming through the ranks.
Per Mertesacker has known Lewis-Skelly since he was very, very young, and he has seen him progress into an Arsenal first-team star and an England international.
One incredible trait the Englishman possesses is his ability to drive forward with the ball from midfield, getting past people by using his physicality.
That is not something Lewis-Skelly learnt recently – he has had that since he played for the Arsenal academy sides when he was a U10s player. Mertesacker spotted that ‘super strength’ back then and helped him master it over the years.
The big German told HaytersTV: “What Myles did against Atletico Madrid (when he assisted Gabriel Martinelli), he did it as a U10.
“I’m not joking. I’ve done this deliberately, because that’s also us, the individual development within a team and working on their super strength all the time, because we feel like that will make a difference.
“He bulldozed through midfields as a U10, 12, 13…”
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s position at Arsenal needs to change
Lewis-Skelly has mostly played as a left-back for Arsenal since breaking into the first team, and he has done a good job there.
However, the teenager is naturally a central midfielder.
Declan Rice has compared Lewis-Skelly to Mousa Dembele, and the Arsenal youngster has all the qualities to become as good a player as the Belgian was, if not better.
If Myles Lewis-Skelly could only play in one position for the rest of his career, would you have him at left-back or in midfield?
What's his best position?
There is currently no place for Lewis-Skelly as a starter in the middle of the park, but he deserves opportunities there as a substitute.
We are convinced that it will bring the best out of him because of his ability to bulldoze his way through the midfield and have an impact in the final third.
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