Why Myles Lewis-Skelly lost his cool vs Ipswich as Mikel Arteta defuses furious Arsenal outburst
Mikel Arteta had to calm Myles Lewis-Skelly down at full-time.(Image: Tom Canton)
Mikel Arteta was forced to intervene when Myles Lewis-Skelly took it upon himself to raise a complaint with the match officials following Arsenal's 4-2 win over Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup third round.
The Gunners midfielder was partly at fault for a consolation goal scored by Chuba Akpom in the dying embers of stoppage time at Portman Road. The Tractor Boys caught Arsenal outnumbered at the back, with Leif Davies spearheading a three-on-three.
As the Ipswich Town left-back shaped to deliver a cross into the box, his teammate dashed past Lewis-Skelly on the edge of the box. Akpom and the 19-year-old tangled limbs as they each raced into the area, leaving the latter in a heap.
Ezri Konsa slammed on the brakes a little late as the Tractor Boys striker, with his back to goal, shifted the ball onto his right foot. Desperate to compensate for lost ground, the Gunners defender dived to block Akpom's shot, which deflected off his trailing foot, looping over Kepa Arrizabalaga.
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Lewis-Skelly was absolutely incensed by the decision not to award Arsenal a free-kick for the incident, almost identical to that of Declan Rice's unpunished trip on Morgan Rogers earlier this month, in the build-up to the goal.
Upon the full-time whistle, the Hale End graduate took it upon himself to raise a complaint with the match officials. Lewis-Skelly began by pleading his innocence to one of the assistant referees, waving his arms in the air.
Mikel Merino initially stood in his teammate's way, stopping him from confronting the match official face-to-face. The England international continued to make his case until Arteta stepped in and dismissed him.
Twice, the Gunners boss tapped Lewis-Skelly on the shoulder and pointed in the opposite direction of the match officials. A few moments later, Gabriel Magalhaes was spotted giving the teenager some words of advice as they applauded the travelling fans.
The duo, joined by Riccardo Calafiori, then appeared to be among the first to head down the tunnel, while Max Dowman, who had fired Arsenal to victory, and Marli Salmon soaked up the atmosphere.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Arteta commented on Merino and his growing leadership role in the squad. The 30-year-old midfielder was, of course, the first to step in and try to defuse Lewis-Skelly at the end of the game.
"He’s unbelievable," said the Gunners boss. "First of all, he's one of the most intelligent players that I've seen, and I've worked with. Then the personality is just full of... I don't know, he just wants to give for everybody.
"He thinks about everything, he thinks about everybody. And on top of that, he has qualities that are unique in football and in our team, his capacity to arrive in the box, he's capable of occupying different places, to play in different positions, to link play with people.
"And as a midfielder, the ability that he has to score goals like tonight is a different one that we've seen lately, but another incredible one."
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