Lewis-Skelly 'pretends to listen to Mikel Arteta' - Arsenal legend swipes

Arsenal academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly was “pretending” to listen to Mikel Arteta when he came on in the game against Crystal Palace, Alan Smith suggested.

The Gunners beat their London rivals 3-2 on Wednesday (18 December) in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Gabriel Jesus was a surprising hat-trick hero as he was able to rectify Jakub Kiwior’s early error. It was a much-changed side Arteta named, but 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly was not in the starting 11.

Instead, he was brought on in the 69th minute for Kieran Tierney to play as left-back, a position he has been playing despite being a central-midfielder.

Before coming on, the Spanish coach was giving instructions to his player, but according to former player Alan Smith, he jokingly said the youngster wasn’t taking it all in.

Seb Hutchinson on commentary for Sky Sports, started by saying (8.56pm): “Miles Lewis-Skelly is having something of a breakthrough season for Arsenal.

“He’s a midfielder normally but he’s been playing at left-back. Arteta’s saying a few words to him and he’s taking it all in, isn’t he Alan?”

“Yeah, pretending to anyway” replies Smith as they both laugh.

Arsenal have looked at youth for depth

Fans have voiced their frustrations this season as Arsenal sit six points off the top of the league table.

The North London club face nearly five years without a trophy if they fail to secure silverware this season.

Youngsters like Ethan Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly have made appearances this season, likely due to injuries. Both have been part of the team on numerous occasions, with Lewis-Skelly already setting a bizarre record.

The Englishman also started in the Champions League match against Monaco last week (December 11) and earned praise from Bukayo Saka for his performance.

Arteta has likely turned to younger players due to injuries to important players like Ricardo Calafiori, Kieran Tierney, and Martin Odegaard.

His side reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2022 as they aim to win the trophy for the first time in over 30 years.

In other news, Arsenal are given an update by Raheem Sterling regarding his loan deal.

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