Why 2nd place matters for Arsenal & Miles Lewis-Skelly’s breakthrough into the England squad

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Why 2nd place matters for Arsenal & Miles Lewis-Skelly’s breakthrough into the England squad  14/03/2025   Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK

Transcript

00:00You mentioned there the speed of Miles' rise, that's obviously extraordinary, but also he's

00:07done it in a position that he's not actually played before, playing a left-back, which

00:12feels even more remarkable really. What was it that made you think he should be a left-back,

00:17having come through as a Cavalier to do?

00:19Very intelligent, very willing and very physical. You have those three ingredients and you have

00:26a personality that you will go through blinks, it can happen and that's why he's done it.

00:33Do you think long-term he might return to that midfield thing? You were talking about

00:39Ethan, for example, maybe being number nine one day. When you map out Miles' long-term

00:43career, where do you see him playing more?

00:45He can do as a six and as an eight as well. I think it will depend a lot on the relationships

00:50and the chemistry with other players, how this evolves as well within the team, I think

00:55in football in which direction he goes, what demands from certain positions as well, but

01:00he's certainly a player that can play in those three positions.

01:03Has the speed of his development and also Ethan's changed the long-term squad plan?

01:09Obviously you wouldn't know before the summary just how ready they were. Maybe if you're

01:14planning ahead for two or three windows, do you now look at it differently because of

01:17these two guys?

01:18Yeah, but those modifications in the squad plan are always very positive because when

01:22you predict the amount of minutes that those players are going to play this season, it

01:25was going to be a super low number, like a tier three, tier four players, and suddenly

01:29they started to play some very impressive numbers, so you have to rethink. I think it's

01:35something, again, as I said, super positive because you already have in-house, you don't

01:40have to recruit, so pretty good.

01:44What are the striking things about this selection? Tuchel's picked this squad, his job is to

01:51win the World Cup in 15 months' time, this isn't a development squad, this isn't four

01:55or five years' time, so what does that say about Miles' temperament and the way he's

01:58handled the big games so far, that the England coach thinks he's ready for this 15-month

02:03mission?

02:04Yeah, I don't know exactly what he's thinking, but for sure with the demands that you have

02:10in the national team is to win, and if he believes that Miles can help him, that's the

02:15story, that's great.

02:16At the age he is, I just think it's pretty unusual to have that backing from a manager

02:21that's got this mission as well, it's not long-term planning, he's there to make an

02:27immediate impact.

02:28Yeah, it's very impressive, but I think that's what Miles transmits, that willingness to

02:32win, that willingness to compete at any level against any opposition, regardless of his

02:37age, so probably that's a big factor.

02:40Just on Sunday's game, do you see Chelsea now as contenders for the rubs-up spot for

02:45second place, and how important is finishing second?

02:49If you can qualify for the Champions League, does it make any difference whether you're

02:52second, third or fourth?

02:54Well it does, but yeah, if they are contenders, I think from the moment I was playing pre-season

03:00and understanding how Enzo works and the talent that they have in the squad, in my opinion

03:04they were contenders to even win it from the beginning, because they have so much there

03:09that the moment everything glides together and they find that connection, energy and

03:13consistency, I think they can compete with any team.

03:16How many teams do you think potentially could finish second or have got the potential in

03:21this mix for this position now?

03:23A lot, I mean there are 10 games to go, so there's still a lot of variation, a lot of

03:27games between us, a lot of difficult games, so there's a lot of teams still involved,

03:32yeah.

03:34Hi Mika, of course only a few months ago Myles was on the Arsenal bench trying to make his

03:39way into the first team and now he's pretty much a regular.

03:42At what point, was there a moment at all where you thought this kid's going to be a big star

03:46or a big feature of the season, because it's very unusual to, especially at 18, to progress

03:51so quickly?

03:52No, I think it goes gradually.

03:54Obviously you see the talent, you see how they react to certain stimulus or certain

03:59challenges and then you start to think, we've got a player here but then you have to do

04:04it.

04:05I was very impressed with him in the States when he came on, for example, against Liverpool

04:09as a sub and we started to compete against those guys in the front line and I was like,

04:14we have a player here.

04:16And then Myles has been consistency, his habit is the way he trains every single day, giving

04:20you the right reasons all the time to consider him and then the best way to talk is on the

04:26pitch for any player.

04:27Go on the pitch, do the talking and compete and show how good you are and how good you

04:33are for the team, especially, and he's done it.

04:36Arsenal have, of course, suffered many injuries this season.

04:39Do you sometimes sit there and think, what could have happened if Myles and Ethan didn't

04:43step up to the way that they've actually stepped up?

04:46It's one thing filling the position but it's another thing to perform as they've done?

04:50Yeah.

04:51We don't know for sure.

04:52We've played with 11 players, maybe we'll discover another option.

04:56Last year when we had it, Jakub played there and we sustained the level for many months

05:02as well, which was good and this season it was their turn.

05:08Do you see some similarities in terms of Enzo's first year at Chelsea and set ups and downs

05:14and your also early years at Arsenal where you were trying to find the right foot, it's

05:17really difficult but you can make progress?

05:19Similarities?

05:20Yeah.

05:21No.

05:22None.

05:24No similarities?

05:25No.

05:26We were at Chelsea during the last 15 years, the squad that they have, everything where

05:30they were.

05:31I don't think there are many similarities.

05:33Do you think he's been under almost more pressure because of the environment at Chelsea?

05:38You have to win now rather than...

05:40I don't know.

05:41What I can tell you is he's a magnificent coach.

05:45He's very clear what he wants to do.

05:46I like him because he's been bold and he's been very clear what he wants to do, how he

05:50does it and I really like the way his team plays.

05:55Can you give us a sense of what the next week is going to be like?

05:58Will he be on the grass with all his feet?

06:01Will he be just running?

06:03What are the steps for next week?

06:05Yeah, he's going to be here, hopefully more with the ball on his feet than in his hand.

06:09So that will mean that he's passing the ball and shooting and running and everything.

06:15He's done quite a lot already on the pitch.

06:17Everything on his own, that's true.

06:19So the next...

06:20He needs to reintegrate with people around him, with players around him and a more competitive

06:24training session and see how he goes with that.

06:26Just finally, we understand that Miles has been learning Spanish.

06:30Have you had any conversations with him?

06:34Is it something I'm understanding?

06:36He's very curious.

06:37Yeah, I know he's been doing that.

06:38I think he's, on all the academic parts, very hands-on and his family as well, which is

06:44great because he's still very young.

06:47Ed?

06:48Hi, Miguel.

06:49Just on Ben White, Thomas Tuchel said that he loved to be back in the Union squad.

06:55Have you sensed a weight lifted around him now that this has resolved the issues that

07:00he had before?

07:02Yes, but I don't know.

07:04Whatever the outcome is, what I want is Ben to be happy that he feels fulfilled and he

07:09really feels his next decision.

07:12Knowing Ben, his decision is not going to be influenced by somebody else.

07:17He really needs to feel it and if they find that chemistry between Thomas and him, that's

07:22great.

07:23If he wants to come and Thomas wants him, great, because I think he has the level and

07:28certainly the potential in his career to achieve big things with the national team.

07:33Thanks.

07:34Just on Ethan, obviously he's in the under-21 squad.

07:36What are your views on that path of development in international football?

07:41England's under-21 squad has got some really big names in it this time.

07:45They're playing France and Portugal.

07:47Is that quite a good way for him to develop away a little bit from the spotlight?

07:51No, no.

07:52It's a big step.

07:53I mean, he's 17 years old and he's playing with under-21s with all the names that they

07:58have in the team.

07:59I spoke to Lee this morning and I'm glad that he's his coach because I know him very well

08:04since we've played together for many years.

08:06So, a great pathway and development for him and a great experience for him.

08:10What did you say to Lee?

08:12Talk about positioning or something like that?

08:15No, no, no.

08:16Just that he was going to select him and I know him.

08:19He's a phenomenal coach.

08:21He's a person who's unique, so I know that he's going to really look after him.

08:25He's going to push him in the right way and he's going to hear a different coach with

08:28different ideas.

08:29And this is always so good for any young player.

08:32OK, last couple now.

08:33Firstly, Gary, from The Times.

08:34You said about finishing second is important.

08:37Why is it important?

08:38Is it pride?

08:39Is it finances?

08:40Sorry, sorry, I missed the question.

08:42You said finishing second is important.

08:44Why is it important?

08:45Is it pride?

08:46Is it finances?

08:48I prefer to finish first and second.

08:51Second and third.

08:52Third and fourth.

08:53And if you cannot be the best, be the second best at least.

08:57That's for sure.

08:58You were saying a few months ago how you finish the season would depend on what you would

09:02have this summer, maybe financially.

09:04Is that effectively qualifying for the Champions League?

09:08Well, it's not only in the financial part as well.

09:11It's what we've done and when we measure and understand what the team has done and the

09:18performances that we had within the resources that we had in each time of the season, we're

09:23going to really have to think hard to understand what is missing, what is really working and

09:28how we're going to now make the next step.

09:30Very important.

09:31If you strip away the resources you didn't have and everything was at baseline level,

09:37would you then be above where you should be relative?

09:40Because like you say, you haven't had the resources.

09:43Nobody knows.

09:45OK, finally we'll go to Jonny.

09:48Ben White coming back to England is controversial with some people simply because he seemed

09:54to have turned his back on his country.

09:57How can you as his club manager deal with this storm, this pressure?

10:05I know.

10:09The just opinion I can take because I was very involved in the moment that that happened

10:17and I know how Ben felt and that was for me very, very clear that the reason why he made

10:23that decision, how he was feeling about it and how struggling he was.

10:27Certainly it wasn't about that, it was about being the opposite, just facing the situation

10:32and say I cannot handle with it now and I'm not the best person to represent the country

10:38in the way I feel right now.

10:40So for me it was completely the opposite.

10:42I think not a lot of people would do it.

10:44What a lot of people would do is hide in that context, in that environment and let time

10:48go and nobody talk about it.

10:50What he did in my opinion was very brave and not a lot of people would have done it.

10:55It appears that if somebody lets you down once, they'll let you down again.

10:59You're saying that it's completely misunderstanding what happened.

11:03From what I understand the reasons, it wasn't about letting somebody down, it was just telling

11:08somebody I don't want to let you down and this is the way I feel.

11:11I think it's very difficult for me to give you what you need.

11:15So I think it was very completely different.

11:24Thank you very much.

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