Myles Lewis-Skelly Must Start for Arsenal vs Tottenham Amid Injury Updates

After both teams endured a difficult last game before the international break, both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will be keen to get back to winning ways when they meet on Sunday in the first north London derby of the season.

Mikel Arteta’s side were held to a 2-2 draw by newly-promoted Sunderland at the Stadium of Light as Brian Brobbey scored a 95th minute equaliser, while Thomas Frank’s team were also held to a 2-2 draw but by Manchester United, with Matthijs De Ligt scoring an injury-time equaliser despite Spurs having taken the lead late on.

Both managers have had the entire international break to ponder on those results and look ahead to this next game, but they are also dealing with some major injury issues within their squad in the meantime.

For Arsenal, their defence has been the crown jewel in their Premier League title charge so far in this campaign, conceding just five goals in all competitions so far.

But they were rocked by news that star defender Gabriel Magalhaes suffered a quadriceps injury while on international duty with Brazil, and he could now miss up to two months of action as a result. There has also been some concern over Riccardo Calafiori, after he was sent home from Italy’s training camp due to an injury too.

Arteta will know that he has great depth in his squad to choose replacements from if they aren’t available, but the first man he should be looking to bring in above all else is England international Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Lewis-Skelly Must Start for Arsenal vs Tottenham

Lewis-Skelly emerged as one of the stars of the future last season, breaking into the team at left-back and establishing himself as a regular in the team – shining in the Champions League against the likes of Real Madrid while also making his England debut under Thomas Tuchel.

However, this season the youngster has found regular football hard to come by as a result of the incredible defensive record being put together at the Emirates Stadium, and that has seen him lose his place in the England setup too.

After being left out of the most recent England camp by Tuchel, the manager admitted that Lewis-Skelly needs to be playing more regularly if he is to earn a recall.

His lack of minutes made sense, with Arteta not keen on breaking up a proven unit, but now he has a chance to get back in the team and the manager must not overthink the situation.

Cristhian Mosquera has been a fantastic understudy for William Saliba this season when called upon, but he prefers to play as the right-centre-back, while Piero Hincapie has struggled to make any sort of impact since joining on an initial loan from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.

Lewis-Skelly, who has been described as ‘elite’, could slot straight into the team in his left-back role, something everyone knows he is more than capable of, while Calafiori could slide across as the left-sided centre-back to maintain the balance of the squad while also playing in his natural position.

Add to that, it should be remembered that Lewis-Skelly is a Hale End academy product and a lifelong Arsenal fan. This game will mean more to him, he will connect with the fans, and he has a point to prove. If he performs well, there’s no reason he should lose his place in the team any time soon.

If Arteta opts not to use him and instead go with a different option, then a January exit is surely something the 19-year-old will be considering ahead of the World Cup, and it could make things tricky for Arteta to manage in the coming weeks and months.

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