Myles Lewis-Skelly was actually Arsenal’s biggest loser against Slavia Prague

Add as preferred source on Google

Mikel Arteta made a decision in Arsenal’s win over Slavia Prague that might’ve worried Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Being only 19 years old with 51 senior appearances for Arsenal under his belt, there’s little chance that Lewis-Skelly will be concerned about his recent lack of game time. 

That being said, there is some pressure on the teenager for reasons outside of domestic action, as the World Cup is in sight.

Thomas Tuchel has spoken about Lewis-Skelly’s World Cup chances with England, noting that without consistent game time, his place in the squad can’t be promised.

For that reason, the teenager will want to get the ball rolling at Arsenal this season, but against Slavia Prague, he was denied a third consecutive Champions League start.

Why Myles Lewis-Skelly was Arsenal’s biggest loser against Slavia Prague

Lewis-Skelly has played tremendously when involved this season, but his minutes have not been consistent.

The rise in squad depth has impacted the 19-year-old’s pathway to regular minutes, with Riccardo Calafiori ahead of Lewis-Skelly in the pecking order right now.

Against Slavia Prague, the Englishman might’ve been unnerved to see Piero Hincapie start at left-back when Calafiori was rested.

Matters weren’t made any easier as Hincapie was incredibly good against Slavia, winning every single one of his duels.

Lewis-Skelly did get the chance to feature, being introduced in the 73rd minute, but defensively, he was unable to emulate Hincapie’s presence, winning two of the four duels he was involved in.

From the outside, it was a cause for concern for the teen, whose status as Mikel Arteta’s favoured back-up to Calafiori could now change.

After Arsenal’s win, Arteta spoke about Hincapie’s performance, where he mentioned how the Ecuadorian is now getting ‘up to speed’.

“I think he was really good, really strong, really efficient, and now he’s got some minutes in the last week with two games and the last minutes against Burnley, so we’re getting him up to speed”

The Arsenal manager’s comments suggest that more game time could be there for Hincapie, but where does that leave Lewis-Skelly?

Arsenal fans discuss Piero Hincapie starting ahead of Lewis-Skelly

Fortunately, some Arsenal fans think that Lewis-Skelly’s omission at left-back could actually signal the start of something big for the youngster.

Lewis-Skelly is actually a midfielder, not a left-back, and on social media, Arsenal supporters suspected that Arteta might’ve saved the Englishman to feature in his favoured position.  

The Hale End graduate’s position on the bench was a talking point on X.

“Hincapie being ahead of MLS is interesting.”

One fan replied to the post by saying, “MLS will play in midfield, there is no one else to do that.”

Many others shared the same view, coming to the conclusion that perhaps Arteta has realised how short he is in midfield.

“And MLS needed for a potential midfield stint off the bench. Not many other options remaining there.”

“What about MLS in midfield, some more aggressive passing could help release Hincapie too!”

The claim could be argued as Christian Norgaard started ahead of Lewis-Skelly, something some fans didn’t agree with.

“MLS offers more dynamism than Norgaard, worth a look if we’re chasing space.”

Despite the positive thinking, Lewis-Skelly was still not utilised in midfield, coming on at left-back to replace Hincapie, leaving fans waiting to see the teenager in his preferred role.