Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skell believes that the Gunners are ready for the challenge to make Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final of the Champions League thanks to their “brilliant” boss Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners are preparing for a special evening at the Emirates Stadium while preparing for the first stage of their Champions League-half final against the French champions on Tuesday.
Arsenal played for the last time in a semi-final of the Champions League in 2009 and their only appearance in the showpiece of Europe's Premier Club competition arrived three years earlier when they members a 2-1 defeat against Barcelona.
Lewis-Skelly, who enjoyed a fantastic breakthrough season in North London, insists that his side is ready for the opportunity waiting for PSG and says that there will be “no apologies” in the game.
“As a team we are prepared and we are ready,” Lewis-Skelly told Sky Sports.
“We are currently in good shape and we are pleased to play PSG because they are also in good shape.
“It will be a good challenge for us because they are in good shape and have a full team.
“There are no apologies in the game. We are ready.”
Lewis-Skelly's confidence has a lot to do with Gunners head coach Arteta.
The 18-year-old praised the thoroughness of Arteta and insists that there is so much to learn from his manager.
“His attention to detail is incredible,” he said.
“I like to learn, so learning him and the way he handles and approaches the games, it's fascinating. There is so much that I can take it from him.
“He's really a genius.”
'Go to the left a smooth process'
Part of that learning process for Lewis-Skelly has adapted to a new role.
His remarkable turnout this season was brought to the left, even though he comes through the Gunners' Academy as a midfielder, and it is a journey he enjoyed.
“It has been a smooth process because I like to learn and I love to improve,” he said.
“I am happy to ask questions to learn and grow every day. If I don't know the answer, I will ask the question.
“It was a smooth process for me because I am clearly a midfielder of trade, but the position was not unnatural for me.
“I enjoyed it.”
Does he miss playing in midfield?
“Because of our playing style, I tend to enter part of the time,” he said. “I will play where the manager needs me, and it is important to be versatile.
“The top players in the world can take different positions.
“So for me I will do what is needed to be in the team.”
'The person I have become is because of the end of Hale'
This season has been a huge success story for the Academy of Arsenal to Hale End, where both Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri break the team of the first team.
Run by former defender per Mertesacker, the Academy has also produced Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe in recent seasons.
“The person I have become because of Hale End, they set good values ​​in you,” said Lewis-Skelly.
“It allows you to take the step for the first team, because it is at our Academy in the DNA to produce players for the first team.
“Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, for example, made his Premier League debut this week. From David Rocastle to Eddie Nketiah to Reiss Nelson to Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, it's something that our club appreciates and we are all together.”
Is there more of the Academy?
He added: “There is Max [Dowman] Come on, but it's not just him. Someone comes through because it is in the Hale End -DNA to produce players. Everyone will get through in their own time. “
Lewis-Skelly on Nwaneri: 'He is my brother'
Nwaneri made his first team debut for Arsenal on 15 and 181 days in September 2022 to become the youngest player in the Premier League, but – just like Lewis -S -SKILY – it is this season where he really left his mark.
And Lewis-Skelly believes that it has been a real help for both players to have come together.
“It was great because I and Ethan have been friends at a young age,” he said.
“Our similar trips, together, it's so good for us who support each other. Because we are from similar areas, we have been friends for so long. That is my brother.”
He added: “We are similar and similar at the same time.
“I am more extroverted and I like to talk to people. He is more serious, but once you get to know him, he is a good guy.”
Lewis-Skelly about that Bernabeu experience
Since he was put into the team, Lewis-Skelly has not looked back.
Arsenal is full of confidence in the last four tie on Tuesday after their 5-1 total victory against Real Madrid.
The Gunners won the first stage 3-0 with the Emirates for a 2-1 success in the Bernabeu in the second stage, and while Declan Rice took a lot of the headlines for his performances, Lewis-Skelly Displays produced that should be further than his 18 years.
However, it is something that the Arsenal fans get used to, even in the early stage of his career.
'I felt comfortable [at the Bernabeu]”He said.
“I had the confidence of my manager and my teammates, so that strengthened me. It enables me to have faith in myself because they believe in me.
“It helps a lot.”
Asked for what went through his head for the first time and played in the Bernabeu and the awareness of Real Madrid and people like Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, he added: “I just wanted to be present at the moment, completely when I am in and took it all.
“I wanted to remind myself that I had been here before, and I tried to stay calm and stay calm.
'The calmer you are, the clearer you think. That was my thinking process.
“[Facing Real Madrid and top players] It is something that I want to achieve on my journey, to reach this level and then.
“The thought I played against those big names, we respect them a lot because they can change the game at any time, but we are not afraid of them.
“The fact that they can change the game; it is exciting for our defenders. We must always be concentrated and know that we can slide and in a fraction of a second they can capitalize. For me it is exciting.”
'Trust comes from the preparation'
From the small sample size that we have already seen from Lewis-Skelly, it is difficult to see what could tear him.
To deal with his breakthrough in Arsenal and playing in the biggest games such as those in the Bernabeu, there has also been a debut in England and a goal at that first start.
Where does that trust come from and is it of course?
“The confidence comes from my preparation,” he said.
“From Young, my mother has installed the positive psychology of journaling, manifestation and gratitude in me. In the end you believe you are the best.
“It is something I am still working on today. So if I look in a certain way or play in a certain way, it is because I feel it in my mind. That is where I have been before.”
When he was asked about journaling, he added: “I probably do it every day, morning and night, just to catch my thoughts.
“Visualization is also a big one for me.
“Mental rehearsal and always think about the next or time to be present and to visualize what you want and what you want to be as a person.”
Lewis-Skelly's football dreams
It is something that so far seems to be good in his short Arsenal career, but what are the dreams and goals for Lewis-Skelly in the long term?
“I want to work out my potential,” he said. “I just want to be the best version of me every day.
“I feel that it would bring me in a good position in this industry.
“I just want to be a sponge and take everything with me, be the best version I can.”
And the dreams for Arsenal?
“It's so special [the situation we are in].
“We just want to keep pushing and the next opportunity is to win the Champions League.
“That is what our mind is.
“Just win. We have to do our best.”