Mikel Arteta was handed a conundrum after Myles Lewis-Skelly’s standout display for Arsenal in their win over Fulham on Saturday and Thierry Henry has made his choice between the Gunners academy graduate and Martín Zubimendi ahead of their Champions League clash with Atleitco Madrid on Tuesday.
Arsenal are favourites to progress to the final after a 1-1 draw in the Wanda Metropolitano last week and few would have doubted summer signing Zubimendi’s place in the team before the 3-0 win over Fulham.
But the Spaniard’s excellent form for the majority of the season has dipped significantly in recent weeks, and after Lewis-Skelly excelled in just his third Premier League start of the season and his first in defensive midfield, Arsenal hero Henry believes the “different” teenager should be given the nod for the second leg at the Emirates.
Asked about how “patient” Lewis-Skelly had to be, Henry said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football: “Not only that, he was ready. It’s one thing to be patient. It’s one thing to maybe be upset about the situation, but he was ready.
“He didn’t look like he didn’t play for a very long time. He controlled the game. He went forward. He bossed the game at times. That’s outstanding.
“Do not underestimate experience in this type of games, but would I like to see him in [the team] tomorrow? Obviously, yes, why not? But Mikel Arteta is the coach.
“Like everybody, I thought Declan [Rice] was outstanding once again, but Myles [Lewis-Skelly] was just different.
“I didn’t see Zubimendi do that often – the legs, anticipation, stopping someone, boom, making someone feel that you that you are there; he was there all the time.”
Henry went on to hail Lewis-Skelly after one specific phase of play in which he did “what great players do”.
“Here he turns a counter into a counter,” he said. “He sees that Declan Rice is going with this player and he says ‘I need to intercept that ball’ because if that ball goes to Smith Rowe, you have a 4v4.
“Now he intercepts the ball and the next swing [he gets Arsenal going forward]. That’s what great players do – you stop a counter, and you make it a counter.”
Gary Lineker sided with Henry, claiming Arsenal were much better off without the “cautious” Zubimendi in the team.
“I’m going to throw something in here because I think there’s a fundamental difference between the Arsenal that we’ve seen in recent weeks,” Linker said on The Rest is Football podcast.
“No disrespect to Zubimendi, but he’s a cautious player. He’s a defensive midfield player and he predominantly knocks it back.
“I thought Myles Lewis-Skelly came in in a midfield position, not a left-back that’s moving into midfield. His first thought is to turn and look forward and quickly.
“I think that really enabled Arsenal to get it forward quicker. It was a bit of a plan, they pushed the wingers higher. Saka was getting the ball in time to take someone on. I think he made a fundamental difference.
“It’s quite interesting because he’s a young player and we’ve known him as a full-back. But in that midfield area, the way he was so positive and looking forward.
“Rice is a different player in the sense that he’s probably at his best when he’s running with the ball. But he’s also a player that tends not to look for forward passes particularly quickly. So I think he really helped them.”
