The 2024/25 season is one Arsenal full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly will never forget.
Not only has he managed to break into the Gunners’ first team, but the 18-year-old has also made his full England debut under new Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel.
There was a point last month, however, where Lewis-Skelly thought he’d got ahead of himself.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was waiting by the phone for England
The Hale End graduate has been a revelation at the Emirates Stadium this term under Mikel Arteta, covering for persistent full-back injuries to the likes of Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori.
Given the Three Lions’ well-trailed issues at left-back – reduced to starting Kieran Trippier on the wrong side during Euro 2024 – Lewis-Skelly had an inkling he might be in the frame, but was quickly brought back down to earth.
Lewis-Skelly told England Football: “The day before I got the call-up, I was on the phone with my friends and I got a call when I was on the phone with them.
“It said no number, so I told my friends, ‘one second, I need to take this call’. I’m thinking, ‘there’s a good chance that it could be a call-up’, but I ended up picking up and it was Uber Eats for my mum!”
The 18-year-old did eventually get the notification that he was in Tuchel’s first England camp a day later, scoring on his debut against Albania and getting his second start against Latvia a few days later.
"I am lost for words,” the defender said after that debut goal. "This past six months have gone so quickly. I stay in the present, and I take every moment as it comes. Honestly, it is incredible. This is a day I'll never forget."
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, although Luke Shaw is slowly making a recovery from a considerable lay-off, the left-back spot in this England side is very much in play.
Lewis-Skelly may need to battle the likes of Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall for the gig, but, once he’d finally got Uber Eats off the phone, the Arsenal man couldn’t have done much more to state his case.
Lewis Skelly is valued at €28m, according to Transfermarkt. He next faces Crystal Palace with Arsenal in this week’s Premier League action.
