It is only six months ago that Myles Lewis-Skelly made his Arsenal debut against Manchester City in the Etihad Stadium and in colorful language Erling Halen ended aloud who he was.
The teenager undoubtedly left Haaland when he simulates the celebration of the striker after scoring his first Arsenal goal in the return match at the Emirates Stadium at the beginning of February. Now another milestone in the form of a potential England debut beckons after his call-up by Thomas Tuchel.
His dizzying turnout continues. Tuchel was in two thoughts to take him because of his age. “I can understand that it feels like we are quickly flushing a career that is already at a rapid pace,” he said last week. In the end, however, the “quality and adulthood” was demonstrated with Arsenal won. Tuchel felt that he couldn't ignore him.
The circumstances of course also worked to his advantage. The injury of Lewis Hall had robbed Tuchel of a different left option at left back. But Lewis-Skelly is not there to come up with the figures. The graduated Academy did not have to settle for long as the first choice of Arsenal. He will hope to repeat the performance internationally.
Not that his arsenal turnout went completely smoothly. Lewis-Skelly has received two red cards in the midst of his insured displays. The first of them, against Wolves, was withdrawn, but he was lucky that he was not shown another in the 7-1 win over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
Those moments of result were memories of his age. Lewis-Skelly only became 18 in September. He becomes the 11th-year-old player of England when he appears in the world cup qualification against Albania on Friday. But they have not discouraged Mikel Arteta from using him and Tuchel is not deterred either.
Arteta described his close shave against PSV as a “lesson” after the game. “The line is really thin in sport and he has to understand that.” But when he was asked if he expected the young person to learn from it, his answer was an emphatic yes. “He is very intelligent.”
It is an assessment that is faithful to those who worked with Lewis-Skelly in the Hale End Academy of Arsenal, where he rose through the ranks alongside good friend and teammate Ethan Nwaneri, and where he, like Nwaneri, was seen as a potential first-teder for his breakthrough this season.
“I don't think people fully realize what an intelligent player he is,” says Alex Nichols, his former coach at U12, U14 and U15 level, at Sky Sports. “He has phenomenal physical and technical possibilities. He is so strong for a young man who has always been a big development point of him.
“But he has the intelligence to match. There are so many players in the Academy System who are physically and technically so capable, but his ability to learn and his coachability distinguished him.”
Those qualities have supported playing left back at the first team level. Lewis-Skelly was mainly used as a no. 6 in the Academy of Arsenal, but he has the challenge to learn a new role. If you look at him now, it is remarkable to think that he had never played there before.
“He has taken a lot in his card,” says Nichols. “He is a brilliant personality, very lively, but he also has a very calm approach to challenges and a calm self -confidence that naturally comes to him.
“I think that helped him to show the best of himself, but it is proof of his intelligence that he has been able to adapt to a level that is so physical, technical and tactically demanding.”
Tuchel will have noted that Lewis-Skelly did not look in place in one of those departments in Arsenal. Indeed, the maturity that was cited by the boss of England when explaining his call last week is only one aspect of his attraction. He has a lot to offer on and out of the ball.
First, there is the technical skills with which he can thrive in small spaces. Lewis-Skelly's midfield education can be seen in how he deals with central zones when he stops in areas where opposition players break, and time and space are usually on a premium. Lewis-Skelly enjoys those conditions.
There was a rare outcome when he lost to Mohammed Kudus before his red card in Arsenal's defeat against West Ham last month, but Opta data shows that he has the highest accuracy percentage made in the Premier League for passes with an opposite player who exerted pressure within a radius of three meters, at 93.2 percent.
It is still to be seen whether Tuchel will try to use his resistance against pressure by asking him to enter possession of the possession, as Arteta has. The boss of England might even prefer to use him as a wingback, given his history to use a back three. But Lewis-Skelly is also comfortable with the more traditional aspects of its role.
He has excited defensively for Arsenal, with impressive one-on-one skill and holding his own against a list of right-sided attackers who includes Phil Foden and Dejan Kulusevski.
The statistics underline its effectiveness. Lewis-Skelly's Duel-Budget percentage puts him in second place among Premier League players this season, just before even Virgil van Dijk from Liverpool.
Amazingly enough, despite the fact that it is new in the Premier League and plays in an unknown position, Lewis-Skelly should not be drunk by this season in his 14 performances in the competition.
Every suggestion that the cards he received is an indication for a disciplinary problem, is rejected by those who know him the best. It is also worth noting that he has only made 14 mistakes about his 26 senior performances. However, there is a recognition that he has a lead over his game. The challenge for his coaches is to sharpen it instead of eradicating it.
“I would challenge you to find an excellent and dominant young player like Myles who sometimes does not shift the boundaries and boundaries,” says Nichols. “The best young players do that.
“It is all part of the learning process. Like every 18-year-old who plays in the Premier League, he is still learning. What is important is that he has that willingness to learn. That is what helps him to continue to develop, as he did during his time in the academy.”
His call-up in England is a source of pride for New Year's Eve at Arsenal in Coaches. It is extraordinary to think that a player who still played for the U21s of his club, a few months later for an English arch for an English bow.
If his breakthrough at club level is something to take on, he will assume the challenge in his pass.
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