Myles Lewis-Skelly makes 'demanding' Mikel Arteta claim and names two Arsenal leaders

Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly has hailed his "demanding" manager Mikel Arteta as he praised the Spaniard for holding his players to the highest standards possible.

The teenage left-back enjoyed a superb breakthrough season at the Emirates last season after being given a chance by Arteta at the age of just 18. Lewis-Skelly has wasted little time making an impact as he went on to make 15 starts in the Premier League and seven in the Champions League.

His performances were rewarded with his first ever England cap after new Three Lions boss handed him a debut against Albania, in which he scored his first goal.

The youngster has been discussing his rise to prominence in an interview with GQ magazine and pinpointed Arteta for making sure he and other Arsenal stars were always on their "A-game".

When asked what the Spaniard was like to work under, he said: "Demanding and in the best way. He holds you to a high standard, and if you don’t meet that standard, he’s going to let you know about it.

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"You can’t get away with being silly in training; you’ve got to be on your A-game and apply yourself."

Lewis-Skelly said another factor in his quick rise to the first team was his ability to learn quickly and added he was always keen to observe other top players in training.

"I’d say that’s one of my super strengths," he added. "My ability to take in information quickly and process it has helped the team recognise my skills.

"I know where I need to be and what I should expect from another player to do in a situation, and it all comes from practice and watching other great players."

One of those players is Declan Rice, who he called a "sensational leader" and also reserved praise for Bukayo Saka because of their "similar journeys" through the academy.

"I’ll definitely say Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka definitely," he said. "Dec is a sensational leader, someone who knows what to say at the right moment every time. Bukayo had a similar journey to mine, so I’ve been asking him a lot of questions about how it’s been for him and what helped him."

Lewis-Skelly has played a total of 43 times for Arsenal so far and looks to be the first choice left-back ahead of Ricardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko for the 2025-26 season.

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