Media reacts to Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly displays for Arsenal in rout of Bayer Leverkusen

Arsenal were in pre-season friendly action on Wednesday evening as they faced Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners bounced back in style from their loss to Liverpool by running out 4-1 winners over the Bundesliga champions in north London.

Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead within the opening 10 minutes, with Kai Havertz notching up two assists for his teammates.

Oleksandr Zinchenko blasted into the bottom corner of the Leverkusen net in the eighth minute before Leandro Trossard slotted home just one minute later.

Gabriel Jesus made it three in the 38th minute, making the most of the visitors losing possession to claim the ball, charge down the left-hand side and fire past Matej Kovar.

Arsenal added a fourth just after the hour, substitute Bukayo Saka sending in a delivery that bounced off Aleix Garcia and fell kindly for Havertz to net against his former employers.

Although Leverkusen netted a consolation through Adam Hlozek in the 76th minute, Arsenal were never in danger of relinquishing such a healthy lead and hung on for a solid win.

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Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly impress for Arsenal

While most of the Gunners players impressed on the day, it was especially exciting to see Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly delivering such great performances.

The two 17-year-old academy graduates did not look out of place one bit in Arsenal’s first-team against one of Europe’s best sides last season.

Media outlets covering the game were impressed by what they saw from Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly.

For instance, football.london gave Nwaneri a 7 out of 10 and wrote: “Looks to be ahead of Fabio Vieira in the pecking order for that right eight position.

“Seems to slot in to the first team picture as a natural. Involved in the build up to Havertz’s goal.”

Kaya Kaynak gave Lewis-Skelly an 8 out of 10 rating, saying he “looked really composed on the ball, particularly when pressurised by the Leverkusen high press.

“A nice roulette in the middle at one point. Diligent in his defensive work too,” added the football.london journalist.

Meanwhile, the Evening Standard gave both players a 7 out of 10 rating.

They said of Nwaneri: “Involved in Arsenal’s fourth goal and buzzed around during his cameo. Looks ready for first-team action.”

Meanwhile, Lewis-Skelly “continued a good pre-season with another bright performance at left-back. Tucked into midfield well.”

The Express went with 6 out of 10 for Nwaneri, writing: “The youngster tried to get involved in the final third but was a little isolated on the left.”

Lewis-Skelly got a 7 out of 10, with the newspaper saying the 17-year-old “was handed a surprise chance to impress and looked tidy on the ball.

“Performed a delightful pirouette to show his confidence.”

Exciting season ahead for Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly

All in all, a great evening for Arsenal’s players, coaches and fans. And seeing two of the academy’s best players doing so well is especially pleasing.

Neither Nwaneri nor Lewis-Skelly should be playing Under-21 football this season. Arsenal either need to loan them out to EFL teams or give them a chance in the first-team.

It looks as though Gunners insiders have high hopes for both players. Many people at Arsenal reportedly ‘believe this could well be Nwaneri’s real breakthrough season’ at the top level.

Meanwhile, Arteta is said to have a special plan for Lewis-Skelly in terms of his position on the pitch.