: Myles Lewis-Skelly was taken off during the first-half by Mikel Arteta (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly was branded ‘naive’ by former Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton.
The Gunners academy graduate was already on a yellow card when he made another challenge which arguably should’ve warranted a red.
Least that’s the opinion of BBC Sports pundit Sutton, who said on Five Live: “It is so naive from Myles Lewis-Skelly. It is a foul which warrants a second yellow.
“It’s MY fault Salah and De Bruyne left Chelsea…” – which Blues legend made this HUGE admission?
“He is so fortunate to get away with that. That’s a bit of a shocker from the referee.”
Lewis-Skelly’s night took an early turn during Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 first leg against PSV when he was substituted just 34 minutes into the match after what many felt was a near miss with a second yellow card.
The 18-year-old defender had already been booked in the 24th minute for pulling back PSV’s Luuk De Jong. Just minutes later, he was involved in another foul, tripping Richard Ledezma on the PSV right. The home crowd and players were quick to call for a second yellow, but the referee chose to keep his cards in his pocket and let the teenager off the hook.
However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wasn’t willing to gamble. With the Gunners already 3-0 up after Mikel Merino’s goal, Arteta decided to withdraw Lewis-Skelly just before the 35-minute mark.
Myles Lewis-Skelly booed off the pitch during the first-half against PSV
The young defender made his way off the pitch, greeted by a chorus of boos from the Eindhoven fans but also high-fives from his teammates. Riccardo Calafiori was brought on in his place.
The substitution came as a relief to many, as a red card would have been Lewis-Skelly’s third in just over a month. He had been sent off in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 25, though that red card was later rescinded, and again in their 2-1 defeat to West Ham on February 22.
Commentator Alan Shearer, speaking on Amazon Prime’s coverage, also pointed out the risk Lewis-Skelly posed: “It’s a bit of a risky situation when he’s just been given a yellow card a minute ago. I’m pretty sure if he hadn’t been booked already, that would certainly have been another yellow.”
