Mikel Arteta just got the best out of Myles Lewis-Skelly at a crucial time

Well that was enjoyable, wasn't it? On Saturday evening, Arsenal put in, by some distance, their best performance for a very long time, comprehensively swatted aside Fulham 3-0. Viktor Gyökeres scored twice and assisted the other, that one emphatically finished by the returning Bukayo Saka. This pushed the Gunners six points clear at the top of the Premier League, albeit Manchester City do have two games in hand, and also increases belief ahead of Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Atlético Madrid.

Of course, the return of Saka made all the difference, but before the game only one name caught everyone's eye. That was the fact that Myles Lewis-Skelly was in midfield, starting alongside Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice, affording Martín Zubimendi a much-needed breather. Well, fair to say, the teenager shone in his more natural role.

Myles Lewis-Skelly's statistics vs Fulham

Note: Statistics courtesy of SofaScore.

Lewis-Skelly's statistics across the board on Saturday were exceptional. He completed 97% of his passes, despite the fact only William Saliba attempted more passes. Meantime, the England international won the most ground duels, produced a key pass and accumulated 78 touches; only Gabriel, Saliba, Calvin Bassey and Antonee Robinson had more.

During the second half of last season, with Riccardo Calafiori struggling for fitness, Lewis-Skelly burst on to the scene as Arteta's first-choice left back. He began the campaign by starting in an EFL Trophy match at Stadium MK in front of less than 2,500 people, ending it starting Champions League quarter-finals and semis against Real Madrid and PSG.

This campaign has been a lot more frustrating for the 19 year old. Calafiori was a near-ever present in the Premier League until Christmas, with Piero Hincapié taking up the mantle, starting 19 of the last 24 league games, as well as four out of five in the Champions League knockouts. This has left Lewis-Skelly struggling for minutes, hence why supporters have been calling for him to take up a different role.

Both Zubimendi and Rice have racked up in excess of 4,000 minutes this season, a staggering amount; it's no wonder the form of both has, to one extend or another, dipped in recent weeks. Given that Mikel Merino has been sidelined since January, and Christian Nørgaard simply is not trusted by Arteta, he has very limited options.

Arteta was going to deploy Lewis-Skelly centrally against Wigan in the FA Cup on Valentine's weekend, news that excited all in attendance. However, after Calafiori picked up an issue during the warm-up, this experiment was shelved, with Lewis-Skelly back at left-back and Saka coming into the lineup. On Saturday though, Gooners everywhere got to witness what they'd been yearning for, as well as enjoying a much-needed comfortable victory. Lewis-Skelly shone when Atleti visited during the league phase, setting up Gabriel Martinelli's goal that night, so could he be a key figure for Tuesday's rather more high stakes second leg?

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