Gary Lineker has lauded Arsenal academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly for his performance in midfield against Fulham at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta started the 19-year-old ahead of Martin Zubimendi against the Craven Cottage club, and the left-back impressed, helping the North London club to a huge 3-0 victory.
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The Spaniard came on in the 64th minute to replace Declan Rice, with the Arsenal boss deciding to rest the England international ahead of the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Lewis-Skelly was one of the best players in the game, and Lineker thinks he should be starting ahead of Zubimendi.
“I am going to throw something in here because I think it’s a fundamental difference between the Arsenal that we have seen in recent weeks,” the former striker said on the latest episode of The Rest is Football podcast.
“No disrespect to Martin Zubimendi , but he’s a cautious player. He is a defensive midfield player, and he is a player that predominantly knocks it back. I thought Myles Lewis-Skelly came in, in a midfield position, not like a left-back, in a midfield position, and his first thought is to turn and look forward, and quickly, and I think that really enabled Arsenal to get it forward quicker.
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“And obviously it was a bit of a plan that pushed the wingers higher, and Saka was getting the ball in time to actually take someone on. And I think it made a fundamental difference, and I think that’s quite interesting because he’s a young player, we’ve known him as a full-back, but in that midfield area, and I think the way he was so positive and moving forward.
“Rice is a different kind of player in the sense that he’s probably at his best when he’s running with the ball, but he’s also not really a player that tends to look for forward passes particularly quickly either. So, I think he really helped them.”
The teenage sensation was in full flow against Fulham and has now handed Arteta a selection headache ahead of the mid-week game. Zubimendi remains the man for the job if the Gunners want to go cautious against Atletico, but it could be a dangerous game play following a 1-1 draw in the first-leg.
