Myles Lewis-Skelly started for Arsenal in the Champions League for the first time ever against Monaco.
Mikel Arteta made a few changes to his side, but none were more eye-catching than to see the 18-year-old academy product get the nod.
Lewis-Skelly impressed Arsenal fans with his fantastic performance. He was fearless on the ball, wasn’t afraid to invert and proved to everyone that he belonged at this level.
Arteta deserves praise for trusting Lewis-Skelly, as do his teammates. They have all supported him since day one.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s classy gesture to Myles Lewis-Skelly vs Monaco
On Wednesday night against Monaco, Lewis-Skelly became Arsenal’s youngest starter in the Champions League since 2011, when Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain got the nod against Olympiacos.
That is a terrific achievement, and he must have been delighted when he found out that he would be starting against Monaco at the Emirates.
However, we’re sure there would’ve been some nervousness ahead of kick-off for Lewis-Skelly. Starting a Champions League game at 18 under the lights at the Emirates is a daunting task for many.
Martin Odegaard, who made his debut as a teenager many years ago, knows how difficult it can be, so he helped Lewis-Skelly out.
In what was a big surprise, Odegaard allowed Lewis-Skelly to have the first touch of the game at kick-off. The youngster passed the ball to his captain, who immediately tried to attack.
It’s very unusual for a left-back to kick things off in a game, but that didn’t stop Odegaard from giving him that opportunity. That was a classy gesture from the skipper!
Lewis-Skelly then had a fine game and didn’t show any signs of nerves. He received a standing ovation when he was brought off in the second half.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s stats vs Monaco
Lewis-Skelly has become the talk of the town since his performance against Monaco.
The 18-year-old is naturally a midfielder, but Arteta has tasked him to play at left-back for the Gunners first-team. That hasn’t fazed him at all, and he was brilliant on Wednesday night.
In his 64 minutes on the pitch against Monaco, Lewis-Skelly had 53 touches of the ball and completed 44 of his 46 attempted passes, thus maintaining a stunning 96 per cent passing accuracy.
He registered a 100 per cent dribble success rate, won five out of his six attempted ground duels, made a tackle and didn’t allow any Monaco player to dribble past him (Sofascore).
Lewis-Skelly could save millions for Arsenal in the transfer market. He is good enough to play regularly and we can’t wait to see more of him.
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