{"id":663733,"date":"2026-05-12T04:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/663733\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T04:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:44:16","slug":"its-how-you-bounce-back-from-adversity-myles-lewis-skelly-back-and-writing-his-own-scripts-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/663733\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s how you bounce back from adversity\u2019: Myles Lewis-Skelly back and writing his own scripts | Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The way Myles Lewis-Skelly framed the story, it was akin to an act of God. And what about Ian Wright? The Arsenal club legend can be relied upon for heart-on-the-sleeve hyperbole and did not disappoint on Sunday as he reflected on the West Ham goal that was not; the most significant video assistant referee-inspired overrule<\/a> of them all.<\/p>\n

On the pitch at the London Stadium, the referee, Chris Kavanagh, announced via his microphone that West Ham\u2019s Pablo had fouled the Arsenal<\/a> goalkeeper, David Raya, and Callum Wilson\u2019s 95th-minute equaliser would be disallowed. \u201cFinal decision, direct free-kick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Were they the sweetest words Wright had heard, he was asked on Sky Sports. \u201cThe sweetest words since Martin Luther King\u2019s \u2018I have a dream\u2019,\u201d Wright replied.<\/p>\n

Lewis-Skelly described a vivid scene in the Arsenal dressing room, the 1-0 win<\/a> having edged them closer to the Premier League title they crave with every fibre of their being. Arsenal are five points clear of Manchester City at the top and have two matches to play \u2013 Burnley (home) and Crystal Palace (away). City have a game in hand. Their remaining fixtures are Palace (home), Bournemouth (away) and Aston Villa (home).<\/p>\n

Lewis-Skelly started by saying: \u201cIt is just a huge sense of relief.\u201d But there were so many competing emotions. \u201cJoy, excitement, fulfilment \u2013 everything you can describe. We are buzzing, but we know that the job is not done. We have got two more finals left.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did he live the VAR moment, when Kavanagh took what felt like a lifetime before breaking West Ham hearts and pushing the club further into the relegation mire? \u201cI don\u2019t even know \u2026 it was just God on our side,\u201d Lewis-Skelly said. \u201cWe are so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

An extraordinarily worrying situation followed by everything coming good in the end, faith and belief the key components: it is a neat description of Lewis-Skelly\u2019s journey as well. Because up to the Saturday before last, the season had been characterised by frustration for the 19-year-old.<\/p>\n

Myles Lewis-Skelly was told by Mikel Arteta \u2018to go for it\u2019 when he recalled the teenager into the side. Photograph: John Walton\/PA<\/p>\n

Lewis-Skelly offered the impression he wrote his own scripts when he stepped up to first-team level in sensational style. There were 15 Premier League starts and so many pinch-me moments, including his first Arsenal goal in the 5-1 win over Manchester City<\/a>, which he followed by appearing to mock Erling Haaland\u2019s \u201cZen\u201d celebration.<\/p>\n

Lewis-Skelly is no shrinking violet. He scored on his England debut against Albania<\/a> after 20 minutes and when he starred against Real Madrid at the Bernab\u00e9u<\/a> in the Champions League quarter-final, there were legends of the Spanish club who had one question up in the posh seats: \u201cWho is this kid?\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been different this season, the minutes in the league drying up, his place in the England squad lost. When Mikel Arteta called him into the Arsenal lineup for the Bournemouth game <\/a>on 11 April, it was Lewis-Skelly\u2019s second start of the league campaign. Arsenal lost, disastrously, and it has added up to the acid test of Lewis-Skelly\u2019s focus.<\/p>\n

\"'It's‘It’s an obvious error’: Arteta praises referee for disallowing late West Ham equaliser \u2013 video<\/p>\n

Arteta has admitted he has been tough on Lewis-Skelly this season and yet when the manager made a \u201cgut feeling\u201d decision to name him in the XI against Fulham nine days ago, everything changed. It was the first time Arteta had started him in midfield, the position Lewis-Skelly played as a youngster in the academy; he broke into the senior team as a left-back. His driving performance in the 3-0 win<\/a> rekindled something.<\/p>\n

Arteta stuck with Lewis-Skelly for the 1-0 Champions League semi-final<\/a>, second-leg triumph over Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, which has set up a mouthwatering showdown against Paris Saint-Germain, and then at West Ham.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough for me initially,\u201d Lewis-Skelly said of this season. \u201cBut I pride myself on having mental strength. Sport is not one pathway because there are ups and downs. It\u2019s how you bounce back from that, how you are in those moments when you face adversity. That is what defines you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke with my family and friends. I just told them: \u2018I don\u2019t want to hear all the noise that is coming from social media. Let me stay in this moment, let me continue to face this adversity and let me come out the other side of it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is always being prepared, always feeling like I prepare as a starter because you never know when your time will come. Luckily enough, it came against Fulham. I took my opportunity and helped the team out as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather abruptly, Lewis-Skelly has climbed above Mart\u00edn Zubimendi in the midfield pecking order. He also faces competition from the captain, Martin \u00d8degaard, who made a big difference when he came on as a 67th-minute substitute against West Ham, helping to reinvigorate a performance that had listed. Lewis-Skelly went to left-back when \u00d8degaard was introduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels so natural for me to be there [in midfield],\u201d Lewis-Skelly said. \u201cI have been training there a lot so [against Fulham] I felt comfortable. The boss told me: \u2018You are going to play midfield, so go for it.\u2019 That is what I did. I had to be bold and play with courage because that is what this league demands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis-Skelly\u2019s future has been called into question as he has struggled this season, the dreaded words \u201cpure\u201d and \u201cprofit\u201d bandied about. But that kind of talk can wait. He has a title to win and maybe even more. \u201cI am focused on the games we have got coming up,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd bringing this club back to glory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The way Myles Lewis-Skelly framed the story, it was akin to an act of God. And what about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-663733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}