Paul Scholes Questions Arsenal's Transfer Strategy on Myles Lewis-Skelly
Paul Scholes has taken aim at Arsenal’s transfer thinking, questioning why the club would even consider cashing in on Myles Lewis-Skelly while persisting with one of Mikel Arteta’s marquee imports.
The Manchester United great, speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate with Sky Bet, made it clear where he stands on the 19-year-old midfielder – and on the more established option ahead of him.
“I prefer Lewis-Skelly in centre midfield to Zubimendi,” Scholes said. “I think Zubimendi struggled last year. If there’s one player you are going to get rid of, it would be him.”
That line cut straight to the heart of a debate that has been simmering around the Emirates: protect the academy jewel, or double down on the big-money project?
Scholes: Don’t repeat United’s Welbeck mistake
Scholes didn’t just talk tactics. He talked identity.
He warned that moving on a player like Lewis-Skelly would damage the culture Arsenal have worked to rebuild, and he reached back into his own past at Old Trafford to make the point. The former midfielder drew a direct comparison with Manchester United’s decision to sell Danny Welbeck to North London.
“It reminds me a little bit of when Danny Welbeck left Manchester United. I hated it, didn’t like it,” he admitted. “Now, Danny was a little bit older than Myles Lewis-Skelly, but when you’re losing your own players, it’s disappointing.”
For Scholes, the issue is bigger than one squad slot. It’s about a club forcing out its own academy graduates to make room for external signings who, in his view, don’t necessarily raise the ceiling.
Carragher stunned by Arsenal’s stance
Jamie Carragher is just as baffled.
The Liverpool legend could not get his head around reports that Arsenal had floated Lewis-Skelly to Premier League rivals, with suggestions the Gunners had offered the teenager to both Chelsea and Manchester United.
“Do you think it’s from his side or the club’s side? That’s the thing that was a little bit strange about it,” Carragher said. “It felt almost like Arsenal offered Manchester United Myles Lewis-Skelly. It wasn’t Myles Lewis-Skelly saying I want to leave or his people putting something out. That’s where the shock came from. I still can’t believe it.”
Carragher’s disbelief is rooted in what Lewis-Skelly has already shown on the biggest stage. For him, you don’t survive at that level at 19 unless there is something special there.
“You can’t play at that level unless you’re pretty special at that age,” he added. “All young players have ups and downs. Last season he didn’t play as much as he probably would have liked.”
The message from both pundits is clear: a talent like this is supposed to be nurtured, not shopped around the league.
Arteta keeps his cards close
Amid the noise, Mikel Arteta has chosen to stay on the fence publicly.
Pressed this week on Lewis-Skelly’s future, the Arsenal manager refused to give any clarity on whether the club are genuinely open to a sale or simply listening to the market.
“I’m not going to talk about any speculation,” Arteta said. “If there is a speculation about our players, that’s a good sign.”
No denial. No reassurance either.
So the question hangs over Arsenal’s summer: do they back the homegrown midfielder that seasoned voices like Scholes and Carragher are desperate to protect, or do they gamble again on the expensive imports and risk watching another academy product flourish somewhere else?
