Arsenal Considers Exits for Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri Amid Transfer Plans
Arsenal chief executive Tim Lewis-Garlick has refused to shut the door on two of the club’s brightest academy products leaving before the transfer window closes, admitting the champions may have to trade to keep strengthening Mikel Arteta’s squad.
The Premier League winners have moved carefully so far this summer, adding Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimaraes to a title-winning core rather than ripping it up. Arteta still wants more. Another defender to help cover William Saliba’s injury and a fresh attacking option remain on the wish list, but the message from the boardroom is clear: money might need to come from within.
That is where Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri come into sharp focus.
Big clubs circling, big decisions looming
Nwaneri, long regarded as one of the crown jewels of Arsenal’s academy, looks the more vulnerable right now. The teenager was left out of the matchday squad entirely for Sunday’s Community Shield victory over Manchester City, a notable omission at a time when his future is under scrutiny.
Lewis-Skelly, by contrast, spent the afternoon strengthening his bargaining power. Deployed at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield at Wembley, the England youth international delivered the kind of composed, assertive display that turns heads in boardrooms as quickly as it does in dugouts. It has already drawn heavyweight attention.
He has been linked with a £45 million move, with Manchester United and Chelsea both monitoring the situation. For a club that may need to sell before it buys, that sort of number changes conversations.
Speaking to the BBC, Garlick stopped well short of putting either player on the market, but he did not pretend they are untouchable.
“I think Myles has had a fantastic end to last season and he’s started this season really well and we are very very happy with him,” he said. “Ethan’s had a great pre-season as well and it’s just a case of looking at what opportunities there are that will help both of those players in terms of their careers moving forwards but we are not actively looking at selling those homegrown players.
“If the right opportunity came up and it was right for them and it was right for the club then we’d obviously consider that.”
The line is familiar in modern football: not for sale, unless the offer is too good to ignore. Arsenal are no different, even with two of Hale End’s most exciting graduates on the table.
Pride in Hale End, pressure in the market
Inside London Colney, there is no attempt to hide how highly the club rate both youngsters. Arteta’s staff have been impressed with their level and attitude throughout pre-season, and the club continues to sell the idea that the pathway from academy to first team is alive and well.
Garlick leaned on that identity when pressed on the possibility of cashing in.
“We obviously believe in our academy and have been very successful with the players that have come through that academy, Myles and Ethan being two of those,” he said. “Everybody loves to see those homegrown players coming through and pulling on the shirt and contributing to the success of the team.
“It’s not something that we aim to just sell only homegrown players, as I say trading players is something that comes up all the time. There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding players. I can’t stop other clubs being interested in our players.”
That last line cuts to the heart of Arsenal’s summer. They want to keep winning titles. They want to keep promoting kids. They also want to keep buying elite talent. Somewhere in that triangle, a decision on Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri will have to be made.
If the numbers keep climbing and the defender and attacker Arteta wants remain on the horizon, how long can Arsenal resist turning academy promise into hard cash?
