Mikel Arteta really won’t like what ‘scary’ Arsenal player just did on international duty

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Mikel Arteta will be keeping a close eye on what his Arsenal players are doing on international duty.

Almost 20 members of the Arsenal squad are in action over the September international break, with as many as four players called up to the England squad. 

On Saturday night, Thomas Tuchel named Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Noni Madueke in his starting XI

Madueke was one of England’s best performers on the night and was certainly the Arsenal player who impressed the most at Villa Park. 

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Myles Lewis-Skelly struggled to win duels in England’s win over Andorra

Though Rice scored, fans noticed how Madueke thrived on the right side, being a nuisance for Andorra to cope with in wide areas. 

The winger’s performance would’ve given Arteta some food for thought, as would another player’s display on the night. 

Lewis-Skelly started at left-back and played 90 minutes, long-overdue game time for the defender, who has only played 44 minutes for Arsenal this season. 

Despite getting 90 international minutes under his belt, Arteta might have a concern about one element of Lewis-Skelly’s performance. 

Against Andorra, the Arsenal academy product only managed to win 14% of his duels, failing to emerge from the majority of his challenges victorious. 

It’s a cause for concern at Arsenal, with so much focus put on how strong each player is at duel-winning, particularly those in the back four.

Despite Lewis-Skelly looking like he had the edge over Riccardo Calafiori last season, this term things have been different, with the Italian starting at left-back for the opening three games.

The Englishman’s frailty in duels will alarm Arteta, who has been given an area to improve the 18-year-old in once he returns to Colney. 

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Lewis-Skelly’s future could lie in midfield

Bukayo Saka described Lewis-Skelly’s rise as ‘scary’, but change might be needed to keep the teen on an upward trajectory.

After the arrival of Piero Hincapie, who can play as a left-back and a centre-back, Arteta’s pecking order in the position changed. 

Lewis-Skelly isn’t battling only Calafiori for minutes, but Hincapie too, which could open the door for the teen to revert to his favoured central midfield position. 

It’s fascinating that the Hale End graduate hasn’t yet played in midfield for Arsenal’s first team, given that it’s the position that saw Lewis-Skelly impress the way he did in the academy.

With the left-back options now stacked, there’s a good chance that Lewis-Skelly will get minutes in the middle of the park, particularly after his defensively poor performance against Andorra.