Mikel Arteta has new puzzle to solve after “fearless” Arsenal star’s performance

It took four minutes for Myles Lewis-Skelly to get his first approval from the home crowd.

And it wouldn't be the last that the youngest Arsenal player, at 18 years and 76 days, will start a Champions League match since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2011.

Lewis-Skelly had climbed high to meet Maghnes Akliouche in the air and came out on top, setting the tone for a performance that will only increase calls for him to be given more and more opportunities to shine.

A measured pass to Gabriel Jesus in the build-up to Bukayo Saka's opening goal was the clear highlight of his 63 minutes on the big stage.

But overall, this was, in the words of Mikel Arteta before the match, a 'fearless' performance from a youngster who has 'a presence on the pitch'.

Before Saka's goal, he had already played a clever through ball to Gabriel Jesus, which ended with Martin Odegaard curling wide and Lews-Skelly looking as comfortable in midfield as he did at left-back.

The move that led to him feeding Jesus, who then crossed over to Saka, showed an impressive combination of power and calm. And the sight of several teammates rushing to congratulate him before running to Saka summed up the impact.

He could do the dirty work too – a foul to stop Vanderson from counter-attacking showed some quick thinking and there was a brief moment when he faced Akliouche that further showed his fearlessness.

Arteta's reluctance to give the next crop meaningful minutes has been a hot topic among Arsenal fans for some time. A year ago today he kept four academy graduates on the bench for the duration of a dead rubber at PSV Eindhoven.

And calls for Ethan Nwaneri, 17, to be given a first league or Champions League start after impressing from the bench were answered by Arteta highlighting the risks of too much too soon.

Yet last night, prompted by injuries and mistrust of Kieran Tierney, marked a departure from the norm. Lewis-Skelly may have had cameos in the competition, but to start on a fairly big European night was another level.

He has undoubtedly repaid the faith.