
Arsenal’s Hale End Academy was quickly recognized as one of the best youth systems in the country.
It’s an academy setup that produces Jack Wilshere, who once passed Emile Smith Rowe and trained Bukayo Saka.
The talent stability they experience is not about slowing down with the pace of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
15-year-old Max Dowman also impressed the U18 this semester, although he has not yet become a household name for Arsenal supporters when he debuted in his senior year.
Understandably, most of the hype this season has been gathering most of the hype. Understandably, Nwaneri is on the bow and arrow of the same age. Only Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen scored goals for Premier League clubs in all matches than the talented Arsenal Gem in all matches.
He is not the only one to replicate their feat this semester.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s England debut
There were some surprises when Thomas Tuchel announced his first England team a week ago.
Jordan Henderson, now Ajax, is back on the team. There is also a place in Marcus Rashford. However, Lewis Skelly’s joining was not that shocking.
After all, his performance has been incredible since his debut last September.
The 18-year-old, a midfielder who was a former left-back, poured into the center space and drove forward with the ball. He came here, everywhere, and it was a symbol of his only club goal to date, a hard work for Manchester City. We all remember the celebration.
Well, if he needs another statement about the skeptics’ qualities he did in his England debut, beating Albania 2-0 on Friday night.
Lewis-Skelly started off at left back and scored his first goal of the Tachel era, running behind a very delicious ball from Jude Bellingham before getting the broiler goalkeeper. When scoring England’s goal, only Irving and Rooney mentioned above were young.
After the game, his interview with club member Declan Rice was lovely, and Arsenal midfielder called him a “fareless” talent.
“He’s just fearless. He’s only 18. I try to take care of him. I know he’ll play like that. His confidence in himself, the way he trains throughout the week and the way I see him at the club. It’s just the beginning of him.”
As the numbers below suggest, the goal isn’t the only impressive part of the teenage game.
This is a big rise for Arsenal teenagers this season. He had 26 games on the first team in 2024/25, and as Rice said, that was just the beginning.
Lewis Skiley vs Albania |
|
---|---|
Have fun in a few minutes |
89 |
touch |
87 |
Accurate pass |
69/74 (93%) |
Key Pass |
0 |
Win the duel |
3/3 |
Loss of possession |
7x |
foul |
2 times |
Successful dribbling |
1/1 |
Statistics via Sofascore. |
Arsenal will only hope that his career won’t be the same as the other direction of Hale End’s best talent.
What happened to Arsenal’s original Myers Lewis Skelly
Through each academy, there are thousands of players who have never fully advanced and finally stand out from the football game.
For enough time, they stayed in football but eventually joined the football league. Then you will have elite, real-time players who graduate from the academy and thrive at the highest level.
For Ainsley Maitland-Niles, this story is certainly true. Like Lewis -Skelly, he is a midfielder who made his debut on December 9, 2014 on the senior team.
It’s the Champions League against Galatasaray, and Arsene Wenger introduces the teenager as a replacement for Aaron Ramsey.
He has only 17 years and 102 days, which makes him a second-year player in the Champions League to represent the club, second only to Jack Wilshere. His future looks bright.
Maitland-Niles’ career |
|
---|---|
Position play |
Appearance |
Right midfielder |
95 |
Right rear guard |
79 |
Midfielder |
52 |
Defensive midfielder |
30 |
Left defender |
26 |
Left midfielder |
twenty two |
Central defender |
3 |
Offensive midfielder |
2 |
Statistics via Transfermarkt. |
However, with many top midfielders in the field, Ally Academy graduates end up playing more games in the back or defender performance. You can check out where we are going by the Lewis-Skelly comparison.
He even made his debut at the left back, appearing in that position due to injuries elsewhere.
But while Maitland-Niles looks like he has great potential, he has never been very keen to establish his guard and want to play in midfield.
Indeed, when I head to West Brom in 2021, Sam Allardyce noted: “Asley’s problem is his position. The only position he wants to play is midfield. The reason he came to West Brom – he forced – Edu and Artta didn’t want him to come because I said he would play in midfield.”
Well, with that in mind, his future will never be in Arsenal under the current manager. In the summer of 2023, his contract expired and he left for a free transfer. Lyon happens to be, he is still a defender.
During his debut in France, he made 29 appearances, attracting the attention of two goals and four assists, while the 27-year-old has played 34 times, scoring one point and providing five assists.
“I’m very mature in my mind and I understand how football works. Sometimes it’s time to let go of a club that you cherish so much and you’ve been for many years. So it’s more of a process of trying to keep going, whether it’s my family or myself.” – Maitland-Niles started with his Arsenal exit.
His numbers and overall performance in Ligue 1 have actually seen the call from England, with French football expert Matt Spiro commenting in December: “Ainsley Maitland-Niles should be in conversation now [for England]. He played the best football of his career with Lyon. ”
So while things didn’t go away like he hoped for the UAE, it’s nice to see Arsenal’s original Lewis Skelly thriving elsewhere.
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Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are two of the best talents from Arsenal College.
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