Bad news for Lewis-Skelly: Arsenal start talks to sign £39m “phenomenon”

Budapest awaits for Arsenal, who won the battle of the dark arts against Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone on Tuesday to advance to the Champions League final.

The Gunners have gone from a side spiralling out of control in their own title race to a side on course to complete a sensational double.

Thierry Henry coined it the chance for Mikel Arteta‘s side to become the ‘unforgettables’ over two decades since his own Arsenal side became the ‘Invincibles’.

That’s what it means and that’s what it could mean to the revived Myles Lewis-Skelly.

How Lewis-Skelly became key for Arsenal again

It’s not a coincidence that Arsenal’s frontline has looked far more dangerous since the return of Lewis-Skelly. Arteta, almost on the buzzer, has unleashed what could prove to be his best shot by introducing his Hale End graduate to his natural midfield role.

It helped gain the title advantage over Fulham in style, before stifling a tough Atletico Madrid side.

As far as Lewis-Skelly is concerned, patience is truly a virtue. For some time, it looked as though the 19-year-old was destined to bow out in North London, with trust gone and starts at a premium.

Alas, in the space of two games, he’s become unexpectedly important at the most crucial time.

The most impressive aspect of his performances were his final third passes. It’s why Bukayo Saka has looked more dangerous and why Viktor Gyokeres has looked better than ever in an Arsenal shirt.

They’ve provided the outlet and Lewis-Skelly has so often provided the first pass to commence free-flowing attacking moves. It has been incredibly refreshing.

The true context of Arsenal’s struggles in that department can be summed up by Martin Odegaard.

Compared to the teenage star, the captain won just three of his 11 duels in his last two Premier League starts against Newcastle United and Manchester City, whilst making 11 final third passes.

Lewis-Skelly does the latter so well without sacrificing duel success, but even that may not be enough for Andrea Berta.

Arsenal’s next signing could now hamper Lewis-Skelly

Like any great sporting director, Berta rarely rests. Even on Tuesday, he quite literally had the fighting spirit at the Emirates. When the summer arrives, his focus will be on reinforcements and that could mean the arrival of another midfielder.

According to Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte, Berta has started talks to sign Danilo from Botafogo for Arsenal this summer, having been in contact with the player’s representatives.

The report does state that no formal talks have started with the Brazilian side, although the Gunners do appear to be in a position to pounce.

The Brazilian midfielder, who left Nottingham Forest to return to his home country last summer, and in the eyes of some experts in South America, he has become a “mega phenomenon”, scoring ten goals in 22 games from midfield. Now, he could be on his way back to the Premier League as a result. This, however, would instantly halt Lewis-Skelly’s development.

Instead of splashing out a reported £39m to sign Danilo, the Gunners could save their money and focus on their teenager’s progress into a midfield mainstay.

After all, Arteta has seen enough to hand him the keys to the kingdom at the most important stage of the season. Throwing that away would be absurd.

That’s not to say Danilo doesn’t have quality of his own, of course. An athletic, left-footed number eight, like Lewis-Skelly, he notably impressed during the 2023/24 campaign at the City Ground, scoring and assisting four goals that season, while averaging 2.4 tackles and interceptions per game.

Former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper once dubbed the midfielder an “exciting prospect”, with his arrival potentially only set to harm Lewis-Skelly’s hopes of nailing down that midfield berth.

So Berta should rest, knowing that he may well have his midfield solution far closer than he thinks. A solution that boosted Gyokeres and stifled Atletico to secure a spot in Budapest.