Mikel Arteta needs to pick ‘special’ Arsenal 17-year-old for the very first time tomorrow now

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should hand youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly his first-team debut against Brentford tomorrow.

The Spanish coach is facing a nervous wait after Declan Rice went off with an injury against Tottenham on Sunday.

It meant that Jorginho was called upon at half-time to step into the defensive midfield role for the second half.

He had only played a handful of minutes leading up to the match and that lack of sharpness was evident when Spurs scored their second goal.

Jorginho was dispossessed by James Maddison who played Son Heung-min in to equalise for the second time that afternoon.

With Thomas Partey also unavailable, Jorginho out of sorts and Mohamed Elneny only just returning from injury, another option might be needed in midfield.

Mikel Arteta could hand Myles Lewis-Skelly a debut in that position against Brentford with huge expectations on the 17-year-old.

He’s been described as a ‘special’ talent and is always one of the standout players in Arsenal’s Under-21 side.

The England youth international travelled with the first team to Germany during pre-season and has trained with the senior side in the past.

It could be time to finally offer the number 59 his first senior opportunity.

Arteta should give Lewis-Skelly his debut

The 17-year-old midfielder has made six appearances for Arsenal’s youth sides this season, scoring once and laying on three assists.

The left-footed youngster primarily plays as a holding midfielder but can be deployed further up the pitch.

There’s a huge amount of excitement around the teenager at Arsenal and he’s said to be on a par with Ethan Nwaneri.

Arteta may have question marks over whether Lewis-Skelly is physically ready to make his first-team debut in what could be a very physical match.

He’s still quite slight and against someone like Christian Norgaard could be muscled out of the game.

However, in possession, he’s fantastic and also has the ability to score incredible goals from distance if offered the chance.

There wouldn’t be any harm in introducing Lewis-Skelly to the matchday squad and getting him used to the preparations that take place before and during a match.

Given his potential, there’s a good chance he’ll be featuring a lot for the Gunners in the future.