It wasn’t a vintage performance from Arsenal last night, but they did what they needed to do against Port Vale and are through to the Fourth Round of the League Cup.
With that said, while much of the team underwhelmed against the League One side, Myles Lewis-Skelly was one of those who didn’t.
For example, he got the faintest of touches on the ball that led to Eberechi Eze’s goal, and then, across the 94 minutes, completed 76 of 78 passes, was successful in 100% of his dribbles, and won 100% of his duels.
It was the sort of showing that should remind fans and pundits alike just how special a talent the Hale Ender really is.
Moreover, it’s a testament to him that he’s already an established first-teamer, as Arsenal had a young prospect who some could say was the original Lewis-Skelly a few years ago, and he eventually left the club for nothing.
Lewis-Skelly's incredible rise at Arsenal
It’s almost hard to believe, but at this point last year, Lewis-Skelly had played just a minute of senior competitive football for Arsenal when he came off the bench against Manchester City in the league.
Impressively, though, and perhaps as an indication of his willingness to get stuck in, the teenager actually received a yellow card early on in that game before he’d even made his debut for telling his teammates to stay down from the sidelines.
His first start for the club came a year ago tonight, however, as Arteta put him in from the start against Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup, and it didn’t take long for him to play a brilliant ball into Raheem Sterling, which led to an Ethan Nwaneri goal.
Over the next few months, the young Englishman would become more and more critical to the team, as persistent injuries to Riccardo Calafiori gave him the time to cement the left-back position as his own.
In fact, the teenager was so impressive in red and white that he was handed his first senior England cap in March of this year, when he made his debut against Albania and scored his first international goal.
The “fearless” academy star, as dubbed by Declan Rice, ended up making 39 first-team appearances last season and already has four under his belt this year, looking like he could really be going to the World Cup in the summer.
In all, Arsenal have an incredible talent on their hands in Lewis-Skelly, and he looks destined to reach the top of the game, unlike another young defensive prospect they had who eventually left for nothing.
Arsenal's original Lewis-Skelly
As with every major club, Arsenal has had numerous promising young academy talents who have struggled to make the transition to the first team.
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Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
Unfortunately, that was what happened in the case of the very talented Reuell Walters.
Before joining the Gunners academy set-up in 2020, the 20-year-old ace spent 18 months without a team following a failed move to Manchester United after he left Tottenham Hotspur.
However, that time out of junior football seemingly made no difference to his ability when he did make it to Hale End.
For example, across the almost four years he spent with the Gunners, the Lambeth-born gem made 55 appearances for the U21S, 20 for the U18S and five for the UEFA Youth League squads.
Moreover, he was very highly rated by those in the know, with respected analyst Ben Mattinson describing him as a “ball-carrying monster” who “loves to drive up the pitch with conviction, brushing off challengers and shielding the ball with his body.”
U21
55
U18
20
UEFA YL
5
Total
80
Mattinson then goes on to claim the youngster’s “passing ability is technically secure” and that he “looks to play long balls over the top of the opponent’s defence to switch play.”
In other words, he was seen as a young full-back who was tough on the ball, could carry it with ease and still had a killer pass in his locker, which sounds a lot like Lewis-Skelly.
However, even though he was an unused substitute on a number of occasions, it was clear that the young Englishman wanted more first-team football. As a result, he turned down a new contract and instead joined Luton Town for free in July 2024.
Since then, he’s made 20 appearances for the Hatters, and while that might not sound like much, he is still young and missed 15 games through injury last season.
Ultimately, it’s now clear that Walters was never going to hit the levels of Arsenal’s recent Hale End stars, but given his age and the skills he has, there is every chance he can still have a great career in the game.
