From Arsenal freeze & World Cup snub to future of England midfield... Lewis

IT has been a hell of a four months for Myles Lewis-Skelly – and he did not even go to the World Cup.

The Arsenal star only made his first start in midfield in the Premier League for his boyhood club in May.

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Fast forward to Saturday night and the 20-year-old was starting in the middle of the park for his country against the world champions.

With club-mate Declan Rice pulling out of the squad due to fitness, Lewis-Skelly was given the nod over Alex Scott to start alongside Elliot Anderson.

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He made a nervy start against the mighty Spain, but who didn’t in the England side?

After that, though, like the rest of the team, he grew into the game and did not look out of place at all against the best international outfit on the planet.

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It marks a stunning turnaround for the Londoner who was out of the picture under Mikel Arteta for much of the last season.

Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie were preferred to the then-teenager at left-back, while a start in his natural role of central midfield looked a world away.

A summer sale seemed a genuine possibility when he was frozen out mid-season.

But with Martin Zubimendi running on fumes as Arsenal looked to close out their first title in 22 years, Lewis-Skelly was brought back in from the cold.

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Lithuania

14:00

Group 2

Azerbaijan

Serbia

17:00

Group 2

Netherlands

Denmark

17:00

Group 4

Wales

Gibraltar

17:00

Group 1

Andorra

Austria

17:00

Group 3

Kosovo

Germany

19:45

Group 2

Greece

Norway

19:45

Group 4

Portugal

N. Macedonia

0 – 3

Group 1

Switzerland

England

2 – 3

Group 3

Spain

Czechia

1 – 2

Group 3

Croatia

Slovakia

2 – 0

Group 3

Moldova

Albania

2 – 0

Group 1

Belarus

San Marino

0 – 7

Group 1

Finland

Iceland

1 – 1

Group 4

Estonia

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

1

3

2

1

0

0

2

1

3

1

1

0

0

3

1

0

-1

0

0

1

4

1

0

-2

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

Greece

1

3

1

1

0

0

2

1

1

0

0

1

0

3

1

1

0

0

1

0

4

1

0

-1

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

1

3

1

1

0

0

2

1

3

1

1

0

0

3

1

0

-1

0

0

1

4

1

0

-1

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

1

1

3

1

1

0

0

2

1

3

1

1

0

0

3

1

0

-1

0

0

1

4

1

0

-1

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

Slovenia

1

1

0

0

1

0

4

1

0

-3

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

Georgia

1

0

-1

0

0

1

4

1

0

-1

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

1

0

-1

0

0

1

4

Israel

1

0

-2

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

1

1

0

0

1

0

4

1

0

-1

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

Belarus

1

0

-2

0

0

1

4

San Marino

1

0

-7

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

Cyprus

1

0

-1

0

0

1

4

Latvia

1

0

-2

0

0

1

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3

Faroe Islands

1

1

0

0

1

0

4

Moldova

1

0

-2

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

1

1

0

0

1

0

4

Bulgaria

1

0

-1

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

Andorra

1

0

-1

0

0

1

Pld Pts GD W D L Form

3

Liechtenstein

1

0

-2

0

0

1

He had been training in midfield for a few months, having been a No6 and a No8 in the Gunners’ academy, and started there in a 3-0 home win over Fulham on May 2.

Since then, he has not looked back.

Lewis-Skelly was superb in the Champions League semi-final victory over Atletico Madrid and impressed in the final too, which Paris Saint-Germain won on penalties.

It came a little too late to make the plane for the World Cup but Thomas Tuchel has always liked the youngster.

Playing at left-back, Lewis-Skelly scored the first goal of the Tuchel era in a 2-0 win over Albania in March 2025.

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So it was no surprise to see the German bring the versatile midfielder straight back into his squad after his electric start to the Premier League season.

Zubimendi has had to get used to watching on from the bench as Lewis-Skelly struts his stuff in midfield.

And the Spaniard did again here as he was named among the substitutes for Luis de la Fuente’s reigning Euros and World Cup winners.

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Lewis-Skelly’s first major contribution was a jittery pass straight to Marc Cucurella who drove into the box and saw an effort deflected out for a corner.

It was not the Arsenal man’s finest moment but was in keeping with a number of first-half errors from England involving Elliot Anderson, Jarell Quansah and, of course, Marc Guehi, who was terribly at fault for Lamine Yamal’s opener.

Lewis-Skelly shook off the early gaffe and started to assert his authority in midfield, telling team-mates where he wanted the ball and taking it in difficult positions.

He would drop back between the two centre-halves at times, to create a back three, and when Spain had goal-kicks, push forward to man-mark Rodri.

His standout moment in the first half was a drive forward, shrugging off 2024 Ballon D’Or winner Rodri and haring into the box, where he was correctly denied a penalty when going down under Pau Cubarsi pressure.

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But Lewis-Skelly did look like he did not know what to do when Ballon D’Or contender for this year, Yamal, ran at him outside the box just before the break.

After the interval, MLS grew in confidence further, taking down one high ball with some tip-top chest control and almost grabbing an assist when playing through Bukayo Saka, who was denied by a last-gasp tackle.

His eyes lit up just before coming off for James Garner as he tried his luck from outside the box, but it was right down Unai Simon’s throat.

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Playing Spain and their stellar, tiki-taka midfield is about as tough a test as it gets.

This was not an A+ performance but Lewis-Skelly did more than enough to pass the exam.

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England player ratings: Bellingham bosses midfield as Gordon shows his worth to Tuchel but Guehi unsteady & gifts goal

MAYBE we wouldn’t have beaten them in the World Cup final after all…

Spain capitalised on England’s shoddy defence to come back from 2-1 down after Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane had got the Three Lions into the lead with a comeback of our own.

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring, with the third fastest goal that the Three Lions have ever conceded at Wembley, inside one minute with Marc Guehi caught napping on the ball.

Some Anthony Gordon magic saw the LaLiga boys set this game alight, before Harry Kane scored England’s second in four minutes to see the hosts go ahead. Unfortunately though it was downhill from there…

Kane embraced his inner John Terry and slipped on the penalty spot, watching his effort crash against the crossbar from 12 yards out, before Alex Baena and old enemy Mikel Oyarzabal added two Spanish goals to slay the Three Lions.

Find out how SunSport’s England reporter Lloyd Canfield rated the Three Lions here…

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