Arsenal have tied Myles Lewis-Skelly to a new long-term contract at the club.
A bright spark of the Gunners' campaign last season, the 18-year-old only made his senior debut last September in the Premier League, but is already a full England international, having started and scored for the Three Lions under Thomas Tuchel.
But with Arsenal hard at work in the transfer window already – and having reportedly tied Lewis-Skelly to a new deal – we might be about to see a completely different season from the left-back in the next 12 months, as boss Mikel Arteta manages his development.
Arsenal could be about to follow a very different path with Myles Lewis-Skelly
Lewis-Skelly and childhood friend Ethan Nwaneri enjoyed huge breakout seasons last campaign, playing major roles in the first team, with the former now recognised in FourFourTwo's list of the best left-backs in the world – but there's certainly a feeling that their ascension has come a little by mistake.
Lewis-Skelly was a revelation at left-back in the absence of not just new signing Riccardo Calafiori, but also Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney – while in the case of Nwaneri, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard both suffered long-term injuries last term, throwing him into action.
Besides, Lewis-Skelly is actually a midfielder: the teenager has made his name as an inverted left-back in the Gunners' system but came through the club's Hale End system as a no.8 in the shape of Mousa Dembele.
TBR Football have reported that Arsenal are preparing a bid for Ajax star and long-term target Jorrel Hato as depth on the left of defence – and coupled with the return of Calafiori and the now-likely exit of Thomas Partey, that could spell change for Lewis-Skelly.
Rather than Arsenal relying on an 18-year-old at left-back, options of Calafiori and Hato there could ease the burden on Lewis-Skelly – and with Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi now Arteta's only no.6s, Lewis-Skelly could see more development in a midfield role going forward.
It would be a similar trajectory to that of Nwaneri, who got his early Arsenal minutes on the right wing, but is expected to move infield to more of a playmaker role as his physicality increases with age.
In general, Arteta likes his players to be rounded enough to play in a variety of roles, bringing in the likes of Mikel Merino, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice in recent seasons to cope with his ever-evolving system, as specialists like Zinchenko, Tierney and Jorginho are shown to have limited use.
Lewis-Skelly is a ‘generalist’, who excels at plenty – and the development of his abilities will be fascinating to watch.
