'Not a question of Lewis-Skelly's quality'
- Published
When Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly scored the first goal of the Thomas Tuchel era against Albania in March, becoming the youngest player to score on his senior England debut, aged 18 years and 176 days, he not only looked like a superstar in the making but the answer to the problem left-back position.
He may well still be, starting England's victory in Latvia, but has a potentially major problem ahead that Tuchel has already made reference to.
And it is a problem that comes in the imposing shape of Riccardo Calafiori.
England apart, Lewis-Skelly has been ousted from Arsenal's left-back slot by the Italian this season, starting only two games for the Gunners and playing only 263 minutes.
This is not a question of Lewis-Skelly's quality - that is there for all to see. This is a question of how much football he will play.
It is a subject that has already been exercising Tuchel's mind, even though he played Lewis-Skelly in Riga.
It is clear that unless he can find his way back into Arsenal's starting line-up, Tuchel may face a difficult choice with the gifted youngster, saying: "Maybe it becomes a problem for him, yeah.
"Being a good team-mate in camp may not be good enough to stay the whole year with us. You have to perform at club level on a regular basis."
Lewis-Skelly's task is clear. He may yet claim the left-back berth if Tuchel is unable to find a better alternative but he cannot rely on past credit. He has to find a way into Arsenal's starting line-up.