There was a moment late in the game when Jude Bellingham stayed down after an altercation with Myles Lewis-Skelly, eventually rising to complain to the referee that the Arsenal player had left one on him. Lewis-Skelly told him to, shall we say, get lost.
No respecter of reputations, not even his new England teammates it seems, it was indicative of what we have seen from the 18-year-old since his Arsenal debut in September – just seven months ago, remember. In fact, he was booked before he had even made it on the pitch that autumn afternoon against Manchester City.
He went on to score against the reigning Premier League champions in the return match, reigniting a row with Erling Haaland from the earlier encounter by mimicking his goal celebration. Not, for Lewis-Skelly, the quiet introduction to senior football.
Lewis-Skelly runs away from Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham
When he made his international bow for England last month, naturally, he scored. There have been two red cards – one of them rescinded – and a penalty awarded against him at the weekend. Just one normal game? Well, this was anything but normal.
Real Madrid, the champions of Europe, now and 14 times before that, were overwhelmed by the Gunners. Declan Rice was the hero but there was something about the swagger of Lewis-Skelly that seemed to sum up the night. No fear, just an appetite to impress.
Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or before Lewis-Skelly was a teenager and played in his first World Cup before the Londoner was even born. The Croatian is football royalty. It did not stop him being brushed aside by the youngster. The message? This is my time.
Lewis-Skelly takes on Luka Modric
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher, speaking on CBS Sports, said: “He reminds me a bit of Jude Bellingham at that age, also Wayne Rooney.” You can see what he means. It is the precociousness, a boy stepping onto the big stage as if he owns it. No doubt in his mind.
Even Rooney did not play in a Champions League quarter-final at his age. Bellingham did, but his team lost. Faced with the Real Madrid of not just Bellingham but Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, Lewis-Skelly not only won but provided the game’s only assist.
Nobody on the pitch created more chances. Only Martin Odegaard completed more passes in the final third of the pitch. And he did all this while playing, ostensibly, as a left-back. It did not restrict his impact, foraging forwards and then tracking back.
Lewis-Skelly’s events by zone and passing sonar for Arsenal against Real Madrid
“Normally at a big club, when a young player comes through, the easiest position to come through is probably at full back,” said Carragher. “You bed yourself into the game. I am not saying it is an easy position, but you do not have to be spectacular, if you like.
“But he is spectacular at left back and he looks like one of the best players in the Arsenal team. He is going into central midfield and receiving the ball on the half-turn. He has got Mbappe and Vinicius Junior either side of him and he is taking responsibility.
He added: “When we were young players it was like you wanted to get your first pass off, do not give the ball away, you just want to almost build into a game. But he has got that thing like he is 26 and has been playing all of his life and he is very, very special.”
Even the Spanish media, understandably focused on Madrid given that they have never suffered a bigger defeat in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie, could not ignore what they witnessed from the youngest starter on the pitch.
Jose Maria Rodriguez, writing in Marca, described Lewis-Skelly as “amazing in his mobility throughout the field.” In Mundo Deportivo, they enthused about a performance to remember in attack and defence. Rodrygo did not manage to dribble past him once.
Asked to join the chorus of praise for Lewis-Skelly after the game, the level-headed Mikel Arteta was keen to keep the focus on the performance of the whole team, while acknowledging that nights like these require some special efforts from his players.
“Collectively when you play the way we played and have the performance we had, you need individuals at the highest level. I think they all took the game to a different level, the individual performance to the standard required to beat this incredible team.”
What comes next? That is what Arteta is already shifting the focus towards. In response to that Lewis-Skelly question, he added: “I am very happy. Now, it is about consistency.” Modric has been delivering for two decades. Arteta knows that is the mark of greatness.
But it is also the past. The future, and perhaps, it seems, the present, belongs to the young man who dumped Bellingham on his backside. There is a job still to do in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium next week. But do not bet on Myles Lewis-Skelly being fazed by that.
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