Mikel Arteta hinted he has made a mistake with Myles Lewis-Skelly this season after the Arsenal youngster impressed in his side’s 3-0 win over Fulham.
The Gunners heaped the pressure on Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title by opening up a six-point gap at the top of the table and establishing goal difference advantage.
With the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid finely poised, Arteta opted to make significant changes to his starting line-up on Saturday evening the most notable of which saw Lewis-Skelly make a first start in central midfield.
The Hale End Academy graduate made a stunning breakthrough last season as a makeshift left-back with his performances in that position rewarded with senior England recognition.
It has been a different story this term for the 19-year-old who has been forced to play a bit-part role following the arrival of Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen who has shared the left-back role with Riccardo Calafiori.
Martin Zubimendi’s consistency, meanwhile, has meant Arteta had been hesitant to hand opportunities to Lewis-Skelly in his more natural position until yesterday evening when his gamble was rewarded with an eye-catching display.
And after watching the teenager impress against seasoned Premier League opposition, Arteta admitted he may have made an error in holding back a player whose lack of game time has seen him linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer.
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‘He fully deserves it,’ said the Arsenal manager reflecting on Lewis-Skelly’s performance in a new-look engine room. ‘I’ve been tough on him.
‘He had a spectacular season last year when he jumped into the first team. He had some difficult moments after that, but he stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we wanted to do, and I knew he was ready.
‘He’s been showing in training every day the opportunities that he had to play. He’s done it and today he really stepped up and I thought he had an incredible performance.’
Asked why it had taken him so long to give Lewis-Skelly a chance to impress in midfield, he added:’Because probably I don’t have a clue and maybe I should have done it earlier, I don’t know.
‘But I have to do things when I believe that the player is ready, the team is ready and the opponent is the right one to play with him in that position. We’ve done it today, it’s the first time.
‘It was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen, if he wasn’t this great, we would have lost the game.
‘How do you play a kid at this age, in this scenario, in a position that he hasn’t played all season? I knew that but I had the feeling that it was the right game for him.’
Reports last month claimed Arsenal were looking to net a combined total of £100million for Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri who has spent the second half of the season out on loan at Marseille.
While there might be a measure of conjecture about his future, Lewis-Skelly hardly gave the impression of a player discontent with life at his current club after he played such a key role in a vital win.
He said: ‘Honestly, I was buzzing. Being back in that midfield, getting the trust from the gaffer and the players again, just allows me to play my game and play it simple but also be effective, which was really good today.
‘It’s hugely important for me to set that tone. When you’re in midfield, there’s a certain rally you have to attain, which is to set the tone, get the engine of the team going. I thought I did a good job of that today.
‘It’s a credit to all our players because when we’re all on the same wavelength, we’re really feeling it, playing with synergy, playing with that energy together. I feel like we’re one.’
