Arsenal beat Sunderland to go top of the Premier League table but one player has been told he may not start again for the Gunners for quite some time.
Mikel Arteta’s side maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night.
It was a tougher match than the scoreline suggests, with the visitors struggling to deal with the Black Cats’ physicality in the first-half, forcing Arteta to make a big change at the break.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was subbed off and replaced by Bruno Guimaraes, a decision that worked perfectly as the former Newcastle United captain scored the stunning opener just two minutes after David Raya saved Enzo Le Fee’s penalty.
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Lewis-Skelly, who was linked with a £50million transfer to Manchester United over the summer, has started in midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard for the opening four Premier League games of the season.
But after a poor 45 minutes against Sunderland, and with £75m signing Guimaraes returning to full fitness in sensational style, the teenager’s spot in the line-up could be at risk.
That is certainly the opinion of Tottenham legend Jermain Defoe, who was asked on Premier League Productions whether Lewis-Skelly had lost his place to Guimaraes for the foreseeable.
‘That’s what you want, that luxury as a manager to have that squad and have that quality,’ the former England striker replied.
‘If you get an injury, you might not get back in the team. Or if you’re off it a little bit like Myles was in the first-half, you get dragged off and then Bruno comes in and he might not get back in the team now for a couple months.
‘He [Guimaraes] has got that quality, that’s why they signed him.
‘Eberechi Eze’s another one, he can’t get in the team. Someone with that quality can’t get in the team and that’s what happens. Once you get your opportunity, whether that’s coming on or you start, you have to take it.’
Eze has been largely hit or miss since signing from Crystal Palace last year, and currently finds his path to the line-up blocked by the in-form Odegaard and Christos Tzolis.
‘That’s the crazy part about being in a squad like Arsenal,’ former Gunners defender Matthew Upson added. You’ve either got to have the stomach for that or not because you’re not guaranteed that place every [match].
‘The moment you might just drop off it or even if the change needs to happen because the manager wants something a little bit different, you have to accept the fact that you might step out and then you got to work hard again to get back in.
‘I know Lewis-Skelly, his attitude’s absolutely top-class, he can handle it.’
With Arsenal looking to retain the Premier League trophy and go one better in the Champions League, Arteta will need his whole squad, Lewis-Skelly included, in top form.
It will be interesting to see whether the England international is still in the line-up when the Gunners face Ipswich in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, before travelling to Brighton in the league.
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