Arsenal were 3-0 winners over Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night and the match was a big one for 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The left-back started in Europe’s biggest competition for the first time in front of a packed Emirates crowd having already featured in the tournament from the bench twice this season.
The youngster is a top talent and Mikel Arteta opted to give the defender a chance in light of several injuries that have hit Arsenal’s backline.
That decision paid off immediately as Lewis-Skelly played a key role in the opening goal for the Gunners. The 18-year-old showed some impressive composure before playing a through ball into the path of Gabriel Jesus, who would find Bukayo Saka in the Monaco box for the English winger to make it 1-0.
Mikel Arteta explained before the Monaco match why his Arsenal team are not scoring from open play
Arsenal players ran to the left-back to praise him for his role in the goal and after the match, Saka told TNT Sports what he said to the youngster during that moment.
When asked by TNT Sports what he said to Lewis-Skelly after his goal, Saka revealed that he told the youngster that he believes that he is Champions League level.
“I said to him, like I said to him before the game, that this was his level,” the winger said. “He needs to have no doubts and play with the confidence. What he is doing, we see it in training so I was pleased with him and he was a big part of the first goal.”
“I said to him before the game that this was his level”
Bukayo Saka knew that Myles Lewis-Skelly was ready to perform in the Champions League ?
?@JulesBreach | ? @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Ija7t6vECH
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 11, 2024
Lewis-Skelly has impressed Arteta for many months now and looks ready for more opportunities in an Arsenal shirt over the coming weeks.
If the youngster proves to be ready, this will be a big boost for the Gunners as left-back is not an area of strength in the North London club’s squad.
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