- Myles Lewis-Skelly had another impressive performance against Tottenham
- Declan Rice praised his teammate after the hard-fought victory
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting!available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.
Declan Rice praised Myles Lewis-Skelly after the teenager starred in Arsenal's north London derby victory over Tottenham on Wednesday night.
Lewis-Skelly, 18, has broken into Arsenal's first team in recent weeks and has excelled as a left-back, despite playing most of his academy career as a midfielder.
He produced another strong performance at the Emirates on Wednesday as Arsenal came from behind to secure a 2-1 win and move to within four points of league leaders Liverpool.
Speaking after the match, Rice praised Lewis-Skelly's brave approach and compared him to former Tottenham and Fulham midfielder Moussa Dembélé.
“It's scary,” Rice told TNT Sports when talking about Lewis-Skelly's ability. 'I said that 18-year-olds now have no fear at all.
“There were four or five occasions in which he has that Moussa Dembélé trait. He uses his body to get away from things. “To show that at 18 years old is incredible.”
Myles Lewis-Skelly (left) starred in Arsenal's victory over Tottenham on Wednesday night.
Declan Rice praised his teenage teammate after the match at the Emirates
Rice praised Lewis-Skelly's versatility and compared him to former Tottenham and Fulham midfielder Moussa Dembélé
Lewis-Skelly has kept more experienced professionals like Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori out of the team since Mikel Arteta gave him his chance.
Rice hopes the youngster will eventually return to midfield, but feels his versatility can only be a strength in the future, having earned Lewis-Skelly international honours.
“He is a midfielder by profession, he can play as a 6 and as an 8,” added Rice. 'Knowing these roles at 18 years old is incredible. Who knows what England has in store for him.
Arteta was equally impressed with Lewis-Skelly after he fended off Tottenham's dangerous attackers.
“He was phenomenal again today,” Arteta said. “He's got a real personality and he's got a real attitude, you need that to play against (Dejan) Kulusevski and (Brennan) Johnson. The way he handled the situation and the occasion was excellent.”
Rio Ferdinand knows a thing or two about defense, and was also impressed by how Lewis-Skelly handled himself when facing Kulusevski and Johnson.
Ferdinand said: “For dealing with both of them as he did, he deserves great credit.”
