Myles Lewis-skelly was handed a surprise start in midfield for Arsenal on Tuesday as Mikel Arteta switched the 19-year-old into the center of the Champions League semifinal second leg against Atletico Madrid. Lewis-Skelly, who has mainly been used as a left-back since breaking into the first team last season, replaced Martin Zubimendi next to Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze.
The move came after Lewis-Skelly impressed in a rare midfield appearance against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday. Eze came in for Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who had come off with a knee problem in the first leg and was on the bench after missing the Fulham game. Bukayo Saka also started after being used only as a substitute in the first leg, while Atletico made one change of their own, with Robin Le Normand replacing Johnny Cardoso.
Arsenal entered the night chasing a place in the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years. The tie was level after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, when Julian Alvarez scored a penalty after Odegaard went off injured. The winner will face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final.
Arteta has leaned on Lewis-Skelly in different roles since his rise into the senior team, but this was a high-stakes call in a match that could shape Arsenal’s season. The club routed Atletico 4-0 at home in the league phase in October, and a strong performance against Diego Simeone’s side would keep alive a run that has also left Arsenal within reach of the Premier League title if it wins its last three games, helped by Manchester City’s 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday.
Atletico arrived with a different kind of pressure. Simeone’s side were trying to end a 10-year wait for a Champions League final, having already missed out twice under him in 2014 and 2016, both times to Real Madrid. They were fourth in La Liga and 25 points behind leader Barcelona, making Europe their clearest route to a trophy. Arteta said his team were desperate to reach the final after 20 years, while Simeone said he would urge his players to build on the second half in Madrid and backed them to do it.
For Arsenal, the selection of Lewis-Skelly was the clearest sign yet that Arteta was willing to trust a teenager with a place in the biggest match of the club’s modern European push. The question now is whether that gamble helps carry them back to a final they have not reached since 2006, when they lost to Barcelona.