Arsenal’s “huge talent” was the original Lewis Skelly, and he left for £0

Arsenal’s Hale End Academy is quickly recognized as one of the nation’s best youth systems.

This is the Academy’s setup that produced Jack Wilshire, passed through Emile Smith Lowe and raised Bukayo Saka.

The talent stability they have come to do not both Ethan Nwaneri and Miles Lewis Skelly become a huge part of Mikel Arteta’s first team this season.

15-year-old Max Douman also made a big impression on the U18S with the term, already becoming a popular name among Arsenal supporters despite not making his senior debut yet.

Nuwaneri, who made the bow at his age, understands most of the hype this season. Only Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen scored more goals for Premier League clubs in all competitions before they turned 18 than the talented Arsenal gem.

He wasn’t the only one who replicated this term.

Miles Lewis Skelly’s England debut

There were some notable surprises when Thomas Tuschel announced his first England team more than a week ago.

Jordan Henderson, now from Ajax, is back on the team. There was also a Marcus Rashford location. However, Lewis Skelly’s inclusion was not particularly shocking.

After all, since his debut with his first team last September, his performance has been incredible.

The 18-year-old, a midfielder in the trade, played as a left-back, knocked him down into the middle pocket of space and advanced with the ball. He is something emblematic of his only club goal here and everywhere, a gorgeous Karl effort against Manchester City. We all remember the celebration.

Well, if he needs to make another statement to anyone with doubts about his qualities, he did it on Friday night with his English debut, Albania, a 2-0 victory.

Lewis Skelly started off at left back and scored his first goal from his Chuchell era, ran to the end of a very tasty ball from Jude Bellingham, playing the goalkeeper before racing in the back. Only the aforementioned Owen and Rooney are younger when they scored England’s goal.

His interview with clubmate Declan Rice after the game was lovely, with the Arsenal midfielder praised him as a “fearless” talent.

As the numbers below suggest, the goals of the teenager game were not the only impressive part.

This season, it’s been quite up for Arsenal’s teens. He appeared 26 times in the first team in 2024/25, and as Rice says, this is just the beginning.

Arsenal hopes his career doesn’t go in the same direction as Hale End’s best talent.

What happened to Arsenal’s original Miles Lewis Skelly?

Through all academies, there are thousands of players who have not achieved results and ultimately dropped out of football.

For a lot, they stay in football, but eventually end up in the football league. Then there are elites, those who have achieved grades, graduated from the academy and thrived at the top level.

For Ainsley Maitland-Niles, the story is certainly true. Like Lewis Skelly, the trade midfielder made his senior side debut on December 9, 2014.

It was a Champions League bond with Galata Saray, with Arsene Wenger introducing the teenager to action as an alternative to Aaron Ramsey.

He was only 17 years old and 102 days before becoming the second youngest player to represent the club in the Champions League behind Jack Wilshire. His future looked bright.

However, many top midfielders have ended up playing more as wing backs or fullbacks in his way. You can see where you’re heading here in the Lewis-Skelly comparison.

He even made an English debut at left back and appeared in that position due to injuries elsewhere.

But Maitland Niles seemed to have great potential, but he wasn’t too keen on establishing himself as a fullback and didn’t want to play in the middle.

Certainly, if we lend West Brom in 2021, Sam Aladdis pointed out: “The problem with Ainsley is his position. His only position he wants to play is in the middle of the middle. Why he came to West Brom – what he forced was that Edu and Arteta didn’t want to come to him.

Well, with that in mind, his future would never have been at Arsenal under his current manager. In the summer of 2023, his contract expired and he left the free transfer. Lyon called where, coincidentally, he still plays as a fullback.

During his debut campaign in France, he made 29 appearances and caught his eye with two goals and four assists, but in this term the 27-year-old played 34 times, earning one and supplying five assists.

His numbers and overall performance in League One have called for England to actually include, with French football expert Matt Spiro commenting in December.

So, things didn’t pan out like he had hoped for from the Emirates, but it’s great to see Arsenal’s original Lewis Skelly thrive elsewhere.