94% passing, 3x possession lost: Arsenal already have their £116m midfielder, he outclassed Anderson - opinion
Arsenal graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly produced a fine midfield performance during the 3-0 Community Shield win over Manchester City on Sunday.
The Gunners went into yesterday’s game after an average pre-season. They failed to win their previous three friendlies (in regular time), which concerned some fans.
However, the players delivered a fabulous display against the Cityzens. There were several standout performers, and midfielder Lewis-Skelly was undoubtedly among those.
The 19-year-old was linked with a surprise exit earlier this month. It was reported that he had been offered to Chelsea and Manchester United and could leave for £45 million.
The Hale End graduate has since responded with two fine performances. He opened the scoring against Como and delivered a sublime assist for Riccardo Calafiori’s goal after just 24 seconds yesterday.
Aside from his defence-splitting ball, Lewis-Skelly made another key pass for Christos Tzolis early in the second half. The Greek went on to provide the assist for Martin Odegaard’s goal to make it 3-0.
Overall, Lewis-Skelly had a passing accuracy of 94 percent (30/32) with four duels won. The England international was brilliant in possession and lost the ball on only three occasions in 75 minutes.
On the contrary, Man City midfielder Elliot Anderson had a competitive debut to forget after his high-profile £116 million move from Nottingham Forest earlier in the transfer window.
Lewis-Skelly’s compatriot completed only 81 percent of his passes (34/42). He failed to deliver any of his six crosses and lost possession 15 times in 60 minutes for the Mancunian giants.
Pre-season fitness could be given as a reason for his lacklustre debut, but still, a player arriving for such a huge fee would generally be expected to turn up with a much better showing.
Based on yesterday’s game alone, Lewis-Skelly looked more like a £116m midfielder than Anderson. The reported £45m valuation is nowhere near Lewis-Skelly’s current ability and immense potential.
The teenager has responded brilliantly since the surprise transfer talk, and has ended the transfer speculation with recent displays. He looks poised to start the Premier League curtain-raiser against Coventry City on Friday alongside Bruno Guimaraes or Declan Rice in central midfield.
Stats from Sofascore.com
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