Arsenal legend David Seaman has described Myles Lewis-Skelly as a "quiet lad" off the pitch despite the youngster's fiery introduction to Premier League football against Manchester City.
In a match fraught with controversy, young Academy star Lewis-Skelly's senior debut was marked by an unusual incident. The 18-year-old received a yellow card while warming up for showing 'a lack of respect for the game' in his interaction with goalkeeper David Raya, according to the PGMOL.
The drama continued post-match with Lewis-Skelly having words with City striker Erling Haaland. The usually unassuming teenager's actions caught Seaman by surprise, given the quiet demeanor the goalkeeping great previously noticed from his regular visits to Arsenal's training ground at London Colney.
On his podcast 'Seaman Says' for Betway, Seaman recounted his experiences with the youth player: "He got booked before making his Premier League debut!" said Seaman. "It's so funny because I go into Arsenal once a week and I'm sometimes with the under 18s or under 23s," reports the Mirror.
"I've been going about three years now, and he was coming in as a schoolboy, right? He trained with the under 18s, and then he put his school uniform back on to go back to school.
"So then to see where he is now, wow. It's just so incredible. And he's like a really quiet lad, so I don't know how he got a booking!" Although Lewis-Skelly had a limited impact in his brief appearance at the Etihad, coming on in the second minute of added time before John Stones' late equaliser, he earned his first Arsenal start shortly afterwards.
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Mikel Arteta deployed the typically versatile midfielder as a left-back against Bolton in an EFL Cup tie that featured many academy graduates.
With 16-year-old Jack Porter debuting between the sticks and Joshua Nichols completing the full match on the opposite flank to Lewis-Skelly who was replaced after 62 minutes. It was a youthful Gunners side that took to the pitch, with Ethan Nwaneri, the youngest ever Premier League player, not only playing but also scoring twice in the 5-1 win.
Arteta clearly has faith in his young talents and offered praise when questioned on Lewis-Skelly's qualities and his debut performance against Manchester City.
"He [Lewis-Skelly] is a competitor," Arteta said. "You look at him, in every duel he goes, the way he reacts with his team-mates, you speak to him it's constantly eye contact. He's nudging, he's asking questions, it's a special character.
"He can play in three positions basically, as a left back, as a No.6, as a No.8, he's very versatile. He adapts, from there he can occupy different spaces.
"He's very adaptable, that's the good thing about Myles - he's very intelligent, very thorough. He has some unbelievable questions every time you ask him to do something, and he has the competitive edge which I think is demanded at this level. And he really wants it, so we are going to use him in different positions."
