Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says Myles Lewis-Skelly has a lesson to learn after escaping red card against PSV as he tells youngster ‘the line is thin’
- Myles Lewis-Skelly was lucky not to receive a second yellow against PSV
- He was taken off minutes after making a reckless challenge while on a booking
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Mikel Arteta said Myles Lewis-Skelly must learn from his rashness after escaping a second yellow card in the 7-1 drubbing of PSV Eindhoven.
The 18-year-old was substituted just minutes after committing a reckless challenge on Richard Ledezma in the first half, which arguably should have seen the full back get sent off.
It’s not the first time Lewis-Skelly has flouted the line, following red cards against Wolves and West Ham — though his Wolves dismissal was overturned by the FA on appeal.
Ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League match against Manchester United on Sunday, Arteta said: ‘I think it was quite clear that we had a liability there, with the yellow card and the next action.
‘So, it wasn’t a moment to take any risk, and learn from that experience managing the game for so long, especially with how important this competition is. So yeah, a lesson to learn from him, for sure. We will support and help him. But the line is really thin in the sport, and he needs to understand that.’
When asked how that physicality can be controlled without taking anything away from the defender’s game, he replied: ‘I think dominating the situation, that’s it. Control the situation. You need to dominate. What space are you defending? What is the level of exposure that you have?
Mikel Arteta says Myles Lewis-Skelly must learn after escaping a second yellow against PSV
Arteta moved quickly to replace the youngster even though it was still only the first half
‘Is the opponent facing you or not facing you? So, what is the probability to win the ball and when you have to commit to certain duels? And then you have to apply defensive principles that are very clear to have the best possibility to win the ball and don’t get exposed.
‘If you don’t do that, at that level, it’s a big problem.’
This Sunday’s match sees the Gunners go up against a Manchester United side featuring Chido Obi, who left the north London club over the summer.
Arsenal were keen to keep the 17-year-old and Arteta now described his departure as ‘very unfortunate’.
He added: ‘Obviously, when a player decides that the best pathway for him is to leave, there’s not much you can do.
‘Very unfortunate because we want to keep our players from the academy and to be very successful with the first team. But in that case, with Ayden (Heaven), we weren’t able to do that.’
