'100 percent': Mikel Arteta confident 'very versatile' star will stay at Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has made it clear that Myles Lewis-Skelly will remain at the club beyond the summer transfer window.

The Gunners have made two new outfield additions in Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimaraes this summer. Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa is expected to join the club in the next 24 hours.

The club are not done yet and could pursue a marquee forward before the transfer deadline.

For that to happen, Arsenal need to reduce the squad numbers first and may also want to recoup funds from player sales.

Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Martinelli could all leave on permanent transfers in the next few days.

Myles Lewis-Skelly has also been linked with an exit, and intermediaries recently contacted Chelsea and Manchester United.

Since the speculation, the youngster has delivered two standout midfield performances against Como and Manchester City.

He looks poised to start the Premier League opener against Coventry City tomorrow, and Arteta has now clarified his stance.

When asked whether he is confident that Lewis-Skelly will remain an Arsenal player, he simply replied: ‘100 percent’.

Lewis-Skelly had a tremendous breakthrough season with the Gunners in 2024/25, where he finished as the regular left-back.

However, his playing time was drastically reduced last term due to fierce competition from Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori.

In April, there was talk that Arsenal could sell Lewis-Skelly for ‘pure profit‘ this summer, but his fortunes eventually changed.

Martin Zubimendi’s poor end-of-season form contributed to Lewis-Skelly partnering Declan Rice regularly in midfield throughout May.

Lewis-Skelly, described as ‘very versatile‘ by England manager Thomas Tuchel, has since had a brilliant pre-season from the centre of the park.

He scored the only goal against Como earlier this month, and provided an assist after just 24 seconds in the Community Shield win over Man City.

With Bruno Guimaraes and Declan Rice not up to full speed after their World Cup breaks, the youngster is poised to start in the heart of the midfield, at least in the short term.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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