Myles Lewis-Skelly

Reading through an Arsenal forum, the consensus on him seems very positive. Though they seem very certain he should be played as a #8, not a fullback.

Which shouldn't necessarily rule him out as a potential target for us given we need multiple midfielders as well as a left-back, but does mean that playing him in his best position would inevitably require benching Mainoo.
 
Seen a good glimpse of his talent tonight, and more confirmation all his best work is done inside.

 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
Thanks, I don’t look into it in detail. I thought it had been completely removed. But you are right. Albeit the ‘profit’ for selling a homegrown player is still their book value (which is zero), but will be spread out over three years, so there is less incentive to sell home grown players than there is currently - but it’s still there.
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The profit is: Transfer fee - remaining book value.

I don't see why squad cost ratio would change anything. And well-run clubs shouldn't prioritize selling home-grown players anyway, as it only gave a short-term boost to PSR. Long-term it always netted out the same whether a player was home-grown or not.
 
goldenboy said:
Forgive me for not judging him in a match against frickin' Moldova U21s...
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I mean, he did play a similar game against frickin Real Madrid.

The video was more to showcase again what type of player he is, rather than saying he's a world beater.

Also serves as a good reminder that he is still only 19.
 
GaryLifo said:
If the fee is reasonable - I.e. 30 million, the. I’m all for this one.
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loan (loan fee set to 5m) with a right to buy clause of another 30m. It's time we get a bit wiser.
 
devilish said:
loan (loan fee set to 5m) with a right to buy clause of another 30m. It's time we get a bit wiser.
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I think from an Arsenal point of view, I wouldn't want to lose him. I understand why he's be a bit frustrated just now though, so I'd be sitting him (and Nwaneri) down and saying we see them as long term Arsenal players, but we'd be willing to let them go on loan for a year for experience and game time, and by the time they come back guys like Norgaard and Merino might be moved on so there will be a bit more space to move him into the midfield group.

Whether the club / Arteta is thinking like that, or whether that would be enough to keep them, I don't know.
 
On the flip side he presents pure profit for arsenal so gives them more firepower in transfer market. If they sell him.
 
GoonerBear said:
I think from an Arsenal point of view, I wouldn't want to lose him. I understand why he's be a bit frustrated just now though, so I'd be sitting him (and Nwaneri) down and saying we see them as long term Arsenal players, but we'd be willing to let them go on loan for a year for experience and game time, and by the time they come back guys like Norgaard and Merino might be moved on so there will be a bit more space to move him into the midfield group.

Whether the club / Arteta is thinking like that, or whether that would be enough to keep them, I don't know.
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I once saw an interview with Gary Neville were he said that for him it was either united or go bust. It didn't cross his mind making it elsewhere..

Those days are over. Players had smartened up. For example kids in the academy are forcing for a shorter contract which allow them to jump ship if not enough progression is made. Lewis Kelly's game opportunities at Arsenal were less than the season before. If united comes knocking then I can't see how he would say no to us

On top of it Lewis skelly will represent pure profit for Arsenal and 40m of that (5+30 with 5 in potential incentives) would be an interesting offer for them. Arsenal would want guarantees that he would at least play a certain amount of games. That can be settled through a break clause in January. However I can see such deal work for everyone
 
GoonerBear said:
I think from an Arsenal point of view, I wouldn't want to lose him. I understand why he's be a bit frustrated just now though, so I'd be sitting him (and Nwaneri) down and saying we see them as long term Arsenal players, but we'd be willing to let them go on loan for a year for experience and game time, and by the time they come back guys like Norgaard and Merino might be moved on so there will be a bit more space to move him into the midfield group.

Whether the club / Arteta is thinking like that, or whether that would be enough to keep them, I don't know.
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Of course he’s not. Young players make mistakes therefore represent risk. Arteta is more scared of risk than Prince Andrew is of the Epstein files.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
Of course he’s not. Young players make mistakes therefore represent risk. Arteta is more scared of risk than Prince Andrew is of the Epstein files.
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Can't be many other teenagers getting many more minutes at the top EPL clubs across all comps this season?
 
I'm not a big fan of players who are positionally ambiguous, it makes squad planning very difficult. Your signings depend on knowing the primary position of your players and the primary position of the other signings you make.

We need 3 midfielders and a left back this summer. Signing Lewis Skelly as our left back and finding out he's not really a left back and we need to try him in midfield is a bit of a disaster as we already made our midfield signings. Likewise signing him as a midfielder and finding out he was more suited to left back all along isn't great.

The other issue is as a left back he's inverting whereas I feel we'll benefit more from an overlapping attacking full back.

As a midfielder, has MLS shown he's got the passing range for it? Or is he just a good ball carrier? In Mainoo we already have a midfielder who's got a limited passing range for a midfielder.
 
Arsenal are even worse than us at selling players. If we get a deal (decent fee or loan + option types), then I'm all for it.

He'd want to play though. No point trading Arsenal's bench for United's.
 
Dominos said:
I'm not a big fan of players who are positionally ambiguous, it makes squad planning very difficult. Your signings depend on knowing the primary position of your players and the primary position of the other signings you make.

We need 3 midfielders and a left back this summer. Signing Lewis Skelly as our left back and finding out he's not really a left back and we need to try him in midfield is a bit of a disaster as we already made our midfield signings. Likewise signing him as a midfielder and finding out he was more suited to left back all along isn't great.

The other issue is as a left back he's inverting whereas I feel we'll benefit more from an overlapping attacking full back.

As a midfielder, has MLS shown he's got the passing range for it? Or is he just a good ball carrier? In Mainoo we already have a midfielder who's got a limited passing range for a midfielder.
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Yeah this is bang on honestly. His biggest strength is coming inside from LB. With Cunha LW that's a bit pointless. And yes, primarily carrier.

Also the prevailing tactical meta seems to be switching back towards fullbacks that overlap outside. Does anyone use inverted fullbacks anymore?
 
Dominos said:
I'm not a big fan of players who are positionally ambiguous, it makes squad planning very difficult. Your signings depend on knowing the primary position of your players and the primary position of the other signings you make.

We need 3 midfielders and a left back this summer. Signing Lewis Skelly as our left back and finding out he's not really a left back and we need to try him in midfield is a bit of a disaster as we already made our midfield signings. Likewise signing him as a midfielder and finding out he was more suited to left back all along isn't great.

The other issue is as a left back he's inverting whereas I feel we'll benefit more from an overlapping attacking full back.

As a midfielder, has MLS shown he's got the passing range for it? Or is he just a good ball carrier? In Mainoo we already have a midfielder who's got a limited passing range for a midfielder.
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Pretty much my thoughts also.
 
Teja said:
Yeah this is bang on honestly. His biggest strength is coming inside from LB. With Cunha LW that's a bit pointless. And yes, primarily carrier.

Also the prevailing tactical meta seems to be switching back towards fullbacks that overlap outside. Does anyone use inverted fullbacks anymore?
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As The Athletic explained last week, the new trend is for fullbacks who can come inside and take up a midfield role allowing the midfielders to push on and join the attack. Or for them to push past the midfielders and attack the half space in the final third.

What Guardiola is doing with O'Reiily is the latest tactical trend with fullbacks. That's what makes Skelly an interesting potential signing. I posted the video a page or two back. It's 20mins long but well worth watching.

This is a trend that The Athletic think more top clubs will look to exploit.

So it would make sense as we are looking for a LB, that we would look at one who could potentially fit this new tactical trend as well.
 
dinostar77 said:
As The Athletic explained last week, the new trend is for fullbacks who can come inside and take up a midfield role allowing the midfielders to push on and join the attack. Or for them to push past the midfielders and attack the half space in the final third.

What Guardiola is doing with O'Reiily is the latest tactical trend with fullbacks. That's what makes Skelly an interesting potential signing. I posted the video a page or two back. It's 20mins long but well worth watching.

This is a trend that The Athletic think more top clubs will look to exploit.

So it would make sense as we are looking for a LB, that we would look at one who could potentially fit this new tactical trend as well.
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So inverted fullbacks? How is that a new thing?

This article is from 2022:
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/inverted-full-backs-guardiola-cancelo-trent-alexander-arnold-lahm-football-tactics/

Or is there more to it? Seems an odd "trend" topic for an Athletic piece in 2026 if it's just about inverted fullbacks.
 
jadajos said:
So inverted fullbacks? How is that a new thing?

This article is from 2022:
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/inverted-full-backs-guardiola-cancelo-trent-alexander-arnold-lahm-football-tactics/

Or is there more to it? Seems an odd "trend" topic for an Athletic piece in 2026 if it's just about inverted fullbacks.
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It's not inverted fullbacks, but midfielders who can play at fullback then move into midfield when their team has possession. Creating an overload in midfield or causing more problems for the opposition, with your fullback not doing usual full back stuff when attacking as they think like a midfielder.

Basically, it's seems guardiola wanted to get more midfielders into his team? Where is the opportunity and it seems that fullback is one of those positions. Liverpool have use slabz there. Madrid have used valverde. Guardiola seems to have kicked this off though.




Ps, your link isn't working it's going to a non football Spotify podcast, "how to think like an extrovert?"
 
dinostar77 said:
It's not inverted fullbacks, but midfielders who can play at fullback then move into midfield when their team has possession. Creating an overload in midfield or causing more problems for the opposition, with your fullback not doing usual full back stuff when attacking as they think like a midfielder.

Basically, it's seems guardiola wanted to get more midfielders into his team? Where is the opportunity and it seems that fullback is one of those positions. Liverpool have use slabz there. Madrid have used valverde. Guardiola seems to have kicked this off though.




Ps, your link isn't working it's going to a non football Spotify podcast, "how to think like an extrovert?"
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Thank you for the link, I'll give it a watch later - oddly I can't seem to change mine no matter how often I paste the correct link in the old post so I'll give it another try here:

https://learning.coachesvoice.com/c...trent-alexander-arnold-lahm-football-tactics/
 
GoonerBear said:
Can't be many other teenagers getting many more minutes at the top EPL clubs across all comps this season?
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Ayden Heaven is the same age as him; has played more.

Yoro is a year older and played more.

Mainoo is 18 months older and played more.

That’s without getting into the likes of Estevao (same age), O’Reilly (18 months older) or Gray (same age) and Bergvall (year older).

I’ll admit, I’m stretching “top” with the Spurs examples, but I wouldn’t like United to abandon a promising youngster and loan out another for the sake of players like Norgaard.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
Ayden Heaven is the same age as him; has played more.

Yoro is a year older and played more.

Mainoo is 18 months older and played more.

That’s without getting into the likes of Estevao (same age), O’Reilly (18 months older) or Gray (same age) and Bergvall (year older).

I’ll admit, I’m stretching “top” with the Spurs examples, but I wouldn’t like United to abandon a promising youngster and loan out another for the sake of players like Norgaard.
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So Heaven, Estevao and Gray the only teenagers then for this season.

One is a Spurs player who clan has suffered a major injury crisis, 1 cost £30M rising to £50M & is genuinely 1 of the best attacking talents in the world.

How much has Heaven played away from Amorims system?
 
GoonerBear said:
So Heaven, Estevao and Gray the only teenagers then for this season.

One is a Spurs player who clan has suffered a major injury crisis, 1 cost £30M rising to £50M & is genuinely 1 of the best attacking talents in the world.

How much has Heaven played away from Amorims system?
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There’s very little difference between being 19 and a half, like Lewis-Skelly, and being 20, like many of the others.

Heaven has over double the premier league minutes as your boy this season, and he’s our 5th choice centre back.

Between him going backwards and Nwaneri going on loan, it’s not a great look. For the record, I despise your manager in part because his ethos is to minimise risk at every turn. I grew up on a manager selling Hughes, Ince and Kanchelskis to blood the class of 92. Lego Pulis signs Eze and Norgaard rather than trusting Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
There’s very little difference between being 19 and a half, like Lewis-Skelly, and being 20, like many of the others.

Heaven has over double the premier league minutes as your boy this season, and he’s our 5th choice centre back.

Between him going backwards and Nwaneri going on loan, it’s not a great look. For the record, I despise your manager in part because his ethos is to minimise risk at every turn. I grew up on a manager selling Hughes, Ince and Kanchelskis to blood the class of 92. Lego Pulis signs Eze and Norgaard rather than trusting Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri.
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You missed quite an important part about SAF blooding the Class of '92, in that he already had a couple of title wins under his belt that gave him the foundation and the confidence to do that, the same way Wenger did when selling Vieira to create room for Fabregas.

We all know Arteta is under big pressure to win this season after 3 2nd place finishes, and if he does, then it's hard to argue it was the wrong strategy.
 
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I'm always wary when rival clubs are prepared to sell to us.

If Arsenal really rated him they wouldn't be letting him go here.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
Ayden Heaven is the same age as him; has played more.

Yoro is a year older and played more.

Mainoo is 18 months older and played more.

That’s without getting into the likes of Estevao (same age), O’Reilly (18 months older) or Gray (same age) and Bergvall (year older).

I’ll admit, I’m stretching “top” with the Spurs examples, but I wouldn’t like United to abandon a promising youngster and loan out another for the sake of players like Norgaard.
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Minutes played this season:
Heaven - 800min
Yoro - 1705min
Mainoo - 1266min
Estevao - 1504min
O'Reilly - 3331min
Gray - 2159min
Bergval - 1352min

Miles Lewis-Skelly - 1298min
 
He’d be a good pickup for 25-30m.
He’d provide cover as the 3-4th midfielder and also provide depth and competition at LB, with concerns over shaw remaining fit next season and his lack of forward play.

Many may prefer someone who is more specialised such as Diouf or Balde, however Skelly playing 2 roles would be beneficial in the short term.
 
VARsenal said:
Minutes played this season:
Heaven - 800min
Yoro - 1705min
Mainoo - 1266min
Estevao - 1504min
O'Reilly - 3331min
Gray - 2159min
Bergval - 1352min

Miles Lewis-Skelly - 1298min
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Premier League Minutes

Yoro - 1615
Heaven - 653
Mainoo - 1114


Lewis-Skelly - 312
 
TheReligion said:
Premier League Minutes

Yoro - 1615
Heaven - 653
Mainoo - 1114


Lewis-Skelly - 312
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Why are Champions league minutes worth less than PL minutes exactly? MLS played all of Arsenal's CL group games, notably against Bayern, Inter and Atletico and beat all of them. Explain how those minutes are worth less consideration than Heaven's PL minutes?

That's not even mentioning that the original statement was about minutes in all competitions, somehow that's completely been taken out of context to make MLS' time played look bad.
 
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