Scholes Critiques Arsenal's Transfer Strategy: Keep Lewis-Skelly

Paul Scholes has torn into Arsenal’s transfer thinking, accusing the club of targeting the wrong sacrifice as speculation swirls around the future of teenage midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly.

The 19-year-old has been linked with a shock move to Premier League rivals, but in Scholes’ eyes, the idea of moving on a homegrown prodigy while persisting with a big-money signing makes little footballing or cultural sense.

Scholes: “If there’s one player you get rid of, it would be him”

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, the Manchester United legend made his stance brutally clear. Given the choice between Lewis-Skelly and Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi in Arsenal’s engine room, Scholes is in no doubt.

"I prefer Lewis-Skelly in centre midfield to Zubimendi," he said. "I think Zubimendi struggled last year. If there’s one player you are going to get rid of, it would be him."

No caveats. No soft landing. Scholes effectively argued that Arsenal are preparing to cash in on the wrong midfielder.

For him, this isn’t just about talent. It cuts deeper, into what a club represents and who it chooses to build around.

Homegrown warning – and a painful United flashback

Scholes expanded on why the potential sale of Lewis-Skelly jars so much. He sees a familiar pattern: academy players edged aside to make space for signings who may not actually raise the level.

The former midfielder drew a direct line back to his own playing days at Old Trafford and one decision he has never fully accepted.

He recalled Manchester United’s choice to sell Danny Welbeck to a North London club, a move that stung both emotionally and on a footballing level.

"It reminds me a little bit of when Danny Welbeck left Manchester United. I hated it, didn’t like it," he admitted. "Now, Danny was a little bit older than Myles Lewis-Skelly, but when you’re losing your own players, it’s disappointing."

The message was clear: you don’t casually discard your own, especially when they’ve already shown they can live with the highest level.

Carragher stunned by Arsenal’s stance

Scholes is not alone. Jamie Carragher, watching the situation from a Liverpool perspective, is just as baffled.

Reports this week claimed Arsenal had offered Lewis-Skelly to both Chelsea and Manchester United. Not that the youngster was agitating for a move. The suggestion was that the initiative came from the club.

That is exactly what Carragher cannot get his head around.

"Do you think it’s from his side or the club’s side? That’s the thing that was a little bit strange about it," he said. "It felt almost like Arsenal offered Manchester United Myles Lewis-Skelly. It wasn’t Myles Lewis-Skelly saying I want to leave or his people putting something out. That’s where the shock came from. I still can’t believe it."

For Carragher, Lewis-Skelly has already shown enough in major European fixtures to be treated as a long-term asset, not a makeweight.

"You can’t play at that level unless you’re pretty special at that age," he added. "All young players have ups and downs. Last season he didn’t play as much as he probably would have liked."

The implication is obvious: dips in minutes at 19 are normal. Being put in the shop window at that age, after performing on big nights, is not.

Arteta keeps his cards close

As the noise has grown around Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Arteta has been pressed for clarity. The Arsenal manager has chosen not to offer it.

Cornered on the youngster’s future earlier this week, Arteta refused to confirm or deny any intention to sell.

"I’m not going to talk about any speculation," he said. "If there is a speculation about our players, that’s a good sign."

Diplomatic, controlled, and deliberately vague. Arteta framed the rumours as a compliment to the squad’s quality, not a clue about his plans.

But with club legends from rival camps questioning the logic of moving on a gifted academy graduate while publicly backing a struggling signing, Arsenal’s summer decisions are under the microscope.

If Lewis-Skelly does go and Zubimendi stays, the judgment on this window may not come from the balance sheet, but from the pitch — and from what Arsenal choose to be.