How national media reacted to Myles Lewis-Skelly’s performance for England vs Czechia
Myles Lewis-Skelly has enjoyed a fantastic six months at Arsenal, it has to be said.
Earlier this year, there were suggestions that Lewis-Skelly could be sold by Arsenal as he struggled to get into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.
Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie had made the left-back spot their own, and Lewis-Skelly was struggling to get a look-in for a while.
However, towards the back end of last season, the youngster finally got a chance in midfield, and, since then, he hasn’t looked back.
Indeed, Lewis-Skelly has been fantastic in his new midfield role, and now, he’s getting chances for England in that position too.
The 20-year-old started for England against Czechia on Tuesday in midfield, but, unfortunately, he didn’t quite make the desired impact in this game as he was hooked at half-time without imposing himself too much on the first-half.
National media react to Myles Lewis-Skelly’s performance vs Czechia
As ever, England performances lead to big reactions and big debates within the national press, and we’ve collated a selection of reactions around Lewis-Skelly’s showing here.
The Sun gave Myles Lewis-Skelly a 6/10 rating, explaining that he was taken off at half-time after picking up a booking . However, the assessment was not particularly critical, with the newspaper saying he “wasn’t playing particularly badly”. The decision to substitute him was instead viewed as a sensible precaution, with the Czech players looking capable of putting him under pressure and potentially forcing a second yellow card.
TalkSPORT were considerably more critical, handing Lewis-Skelly a 5/10. Their description claimed the Arsenal youngster failed to make enough impact in attack, saying he “didn’t break lines or get forward”. Lewis-Skelly was subsequently withdrawn at half-time, with Eberechi Eze replacing him as Thomas Tuchel made an attacking change.
BBC Sport awarded Lewis-Skelly 6/10, taking a more balanced view of his performance. The BBC said he “started the game well” and was given significant responsibility in England’s build-up play.
Sky Sports also gave Lewis-Skelly a 6/10. Their assessment reflected the fact that he was involved in England’s build-up during the opening period, but his first-half booking ultimately contributed to Tuchel’s decision to replace him at the interval. The change also allowed England to become more attacking with Eze coming on.
The Standard awarded Lewis-Skelly 6/10 and was positive about his contribution in midfield. They described it as a “good display in midfield”, although they noted that his booking for a foul could potentially have been punished more severely.
The majority view is that Lewis-Skelly was solid, if unspectacular, throughout the first 45 minutes, but a booking led to an early withdrawal.
The sad reality is that at international level, every minute counts, and if Lewis-Skelly does truly want to impress Thomas Tuchel and make himself a key player for the Three Lions, he’ll have to do more than this.
It wasn’t a bad performance from Lewis-Skelly, but it isn’t one that will live long in the memory, you would imagine.