Ian Wright Defends Myles Lewis-Skelly and Gabriel Martinelli Amid Transfer Rumors
Ian Wright has launched a fierce defence of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Gabriel Martinelli while questioning what he sees as a confused and murky transfer strategy at Arsenal.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, the former Gunners striker hit out at growing rumours around Lewis-Skelly’s future and the role of intermediaries in shaping the narrative around the club’s business.
Wright: “Arsenal fans need to chill out”
Wright was visibly irritated by suggestions that Lewis-Skelly’s camp, or even his family, are pushing for a move.
“I don't know where that's coming from because I know for a fact that's not coming from his team,” he said. “It's not coming from his mum. Arsenal fans need to chill out with his mum saying that she's touting him about. Myles has already said he's happy to stay.
“Why have Arsenal not just said he's not for sale? He'd be a great signing for Manchester United, of course he would. Look what he's doing.”
For Wright, the silence from the club is part of a wider concern. He believes intermediaries are now far too central to Arsenal’s dealings and to the swirl of speculation around key players.
“There's things happening and this again is what I'm worried about with Arsenal, it's the way we're doing business with intermediaries now,” he said. “How's that story happening when we know for a fact they're happy and want to stay?”
Martinelli “touted about everywhere”
Lewis-Skelly is not the only player Wright is worried about. He pointed to Gabriel Martinelli as another example of a footballer whose future is being discussed without any direct contact from the club.
“[Gabriel] Martinelli has not been contacted by anybody at the club but has been touted about everywhere, who is doing that? Why is that happening?” Wright asked.
That disconnect – between what players want and what is being reported – is at the heart of his frustration.
“How can we be in for Vinicius Junior… and desperate to sell?”
Wright then turned his fire on what he sees as a contradiction in Arsenal’s broader transfer approach, especially in the context of profit and sustainability rules and the pressure they place on homegrown players.
“You know what's confusing? How can we be in for Vinicius Junior when we're looking to break records trying to sign this guy but now we're desperate to sell. What's going on?” he said.
“We've got a big squad and somebody has to leave but it seems like everyone leaving Arsenal is going to Turkey, that's another thing.”
For Wright, academy products are being treated as easy financial levers because of the “pure profit” they represent on the balance sheet.
“The unfortunate thing you get when you've got a player who comes through the academy and breaks in to the first team and does what they do, you've always got that noose of pure profit on them,” he said.
Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly and the academy squeeze
Wright also namechecked Ethan Nwaneri as another young talent caught in the tension between footballing development and financial reality.
“It's the same with Ethan Nwaneri. I'm hearing now that they're not going to sell him they want to loan him which I'm quite pleased about because I don't think at any stage he's had a run to have a go at playing in that team,” he said.
For Lewis-Skelly, Wright believes the combination of form and potential makes outside interest inevitable – but insists the midfielder himself is not pushing for a move.
“When you've got someone like Myles who is playing well, it's unbelievable what he's capable of doing then of course Manchester United will see if something can happen,” he said. “They've seen Guimaraes come in they've seen Declan Rice.”
And that is what puzzles him most: a player who wants to stay, a fanbase on edge, and a club that has yet to deliver the simplest possible message.
“He doesn't want to leave and that's the thing that's really baffling me is why Arsenal don't just come in and say he's not for sale.”
