Imposing Hale End star, the ultimate Thomas Partey heir, looks set to save Arteta millions

By Danong

Could Mikel Arteta have already found the ideal Thomas Partey heir? And are we fortunate that he has given us the pleasure of watching him in the past few weeks?

The Gunners have spent the last three weeks on a pre-season tour in the United States, where they have had the opportunity to play pre-season friendly matches against Premier League opponents Bournemouth, Manchester United, and Liverpool.

Aside from the 2-1 loss against the Reds, our Gunners won all of the other friendly games.

The preseason allows players to remind managers of their abilities and persuade them to incorporate them into their plans for the upcoming season.

Mikel Arteta handed academy star Myles Lewis Skelly a chance in preseason (he appeared in every game in the United States), and he took advantage of it.

For the past few months, academy coaches have been training Lewis Skelly, a midfielder, to play inverted left-back.

Watching the 17-year-old play fullback and outperform Oleksander Zinchenko, as he did in his cameo against Liverpool, brings back memories of the Bukayo Saka left-back period, when the Arsenal right-winger initially emerged.

Anyway, why is Lewis Skelly playing out of position? Coaches can experiment with players in various roles early in their development to produce exceptionally adaptable and high-IQ football players.

Given the "lack of room" in the Arsenal midfield, it's likely that Arteta, who has other plans for Lewis Skelly, is simply acclimatising the youngster to the first team as a left back, similar to Saka's introduction as a fullback, before moving to the right wing.

You're probably wondering how Lewis Skelly, playing as an inverted fullback, transforms him into the perfect 6, the Thomas Partey heir.

Playing left-back teaches the Hale End star how to dominate the tempo in possession and strike the right balance between progressive and slow play.

While out of possession, he will improve as a 1v1 defender when isolated against wingers, as well as learn to be a 1v1 dominator, for which he possesses many of the necessary traits.

Lewis Skelly's experience at left back could lead to him becoming a more well-rounded 6 as a Partey replacement, while also being able to play inverted left-back and even LCM if needed.

Ethan Nwaneri has received a lot of hype ahead of next season, but Lewis Skelly could also have a breakout season as well.