Miles Lewis-Skelley has been tipped for an immediate England call-up by former Arsenal left-back Nigel Winterburn, who says the teenager’s impressive start to his career comes as no surprise.
Lewis-Skelly, 18, only made his debut last September but has been a regular starter at full-back for Mikel Arteta for the past month or so.
Winterburn, who won three league titles and two FA Cups with Arsenal, says he has shown enough to deserve a chance for club and country.
Speaking on 101 Great Goals via William Hill Vegas Winterburn said: “I followed Miles through the youth system and his preferred position was always as a midfielder.
“He is a strong ball carrier and needs to learn some positional skills at left-back, but playing backwards is not a problem for him as he is so comfortable taking the ball under pressure.
“He’s grown so quickly, but it’s no surprise to me – I knew there was huge potential for him to go forward, I just didn’t know in what position.
Gabriel Martinelli says Myles Lewis-Skelly has potential to be ‘one of the best players in the world’ ❤️#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/jNTR5TPC8o
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 18, 2025
“He’s almost pushing to become Arsenal’s regular left-back, which is unbelievable. He is enjoying playing at a big club and is a level-headed youngster who will continue to progress.
“When everyone is fit, he will ask Mikel to make a decision. That’s all you can do. He deserves to play.”
Oleksandr Zinchenko started 20 Premier League games last season but this year has seen Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori as Arteta’s preferred options.
However, with Timber playing on the right to cover for the injured Ben White and injuries hampering Calafiori’s first season, the door has been opened for Lewis-Skelley.
A similar opportunity could be on the cards internationally.
England have struggled at left-back in recent seasons with Luke Shaw regularly injured and Kieran Trippier – now retired from international duty – Gareth Southgate’s preferred player for most of the run up to the Euro 2024 final.
Myles Lewis-Skelly#U17EURO pic.twitter.com/nYXOxn7sOM
— UEFA U21 EURO (@UEFAUnder21) January 16, 2025
New manager Thomas Tuchel will name his first team in March and Winterburn would not be surprised if the Arsenal teenager was in.
“There’s a huge opportunity for somebody,” Winterburn said.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he was in the next team. He has put himself in the picture with his form.
“England have so many injuries at left-back and they don’t need to displace someone of Ashley Cole’s caliber – who was the best left-back in the world.
“Luke Shaw has injury problems, Ben Chilwell is not fit for Chelsea, so there will be three or four players who will think they have a chance to start there and Miles is one of them.”
