Myles Lewis-Skelly insists he is ‘afraid of no one’ after his impressive performance in Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Tottenham on Wednesday night.
The 18-year-old was handed only his fourth Premier League start of the season as Mikel Arteta’s side came from behind to beat Spurs in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium.
Son Heung-min gave Spurs the lead but Arsenal were level after the ball deflected into the net off Dominic Solanke from a corner. Leandro Trossard then found the net with a low effort shortly before half time to put the Gunners in front.
Lewis-Skelly played at left-back and delivered a solid display up against both Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson, who was introduced as a substitute at the half-time break.
When asked by Ian Wright if he was afraid by the prospect of facing Kulusevski and Johnson, Lewis-Skelly replied: ‘Never, never.
‘Never afraid of no one. I want to go against the best, I want to be the best, you have to go against the best.’
Asked about Lewis-Skelly’s performance, Arteta said after the game: ‘I think it’s very rare to see 18-year-olds playing against Kulusevski and Johnson in a big London derby for the first time to perform with that composure, attitude and that control emotionally. It’s very rare to see.’
Meanwhile, former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey also hailed Lewis-Skelly’s latest display for the Gunners.
‘You could see his confidence there and he backed it up with his performance tonight. I thought he was absolutely outstanding, to be fair to him,’ Ramsey said.
‘To come in, in the few weeks that we’ve had, in the magnitude of that game, I thought he handled himself brilliantly.
‘He was up against Kulusevski there who has been one of Tottenham’s better players this season and offers so much threat down that right-hand side. He can be proud of tonight’s work.
‘He was obviously really excited, the emotions were going there, like we saw when he came off the field he was pumped up a bit, he realised that he’d had a decent game and the fans appreciated that.
‘It’s about taking these moments in and making sure that you do cherish these moments, they don’t come along very often, these games are important, and they are the ones you look back on at the end of your career and go, ‘I’m so glad I had the opportunity to play there and win’.’
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