Darren Bent predicts Mikel Arteta will drop Arsenal star against Atletico Madrid | Football

Darren Bent fears Myles Lewis-Skelly will find himself back on the bench against Atletico Madrid, despite delivering a ’10 out of 10′ performance against Fulham.

The Hale End Academy graduate has found opportunities to come by this season following his stellar breakthrough last term when he excelled as a makeshift left-back.

With a Champions League semi-final second leg on the horizon, Mikel Arteta chose to ring the changes for Saturday’s game against Fulham and gambled by handing Lewis-Skelly a first ever start in his preferred role in the heart of midfield.

The 19-year-old rewarded his manager’s faith with an all-action display but Bent fears it won’t be enough to see him retain his place against Diego Simeone’s side on Wednesday.

‘Zubimendi will probably come back in because he’s the more senior player,’ Bent told Premier League Live.

‘But I think the manager will be looking at his performance today thinking do you know what if a game’s going on against Atletico and it’s not quite working, he’ll have no doubts whatsoever. He knows he’s good enough to play in there, go and play.

I understand Zubimendi’s been outstanding this season, maybe he’s faltered a bit of late.

‘But Myles Lewis-Skelly, that’s not just a normal performance where you go he did OK, he did alright. He is capable of playing there, that was a top level performance.’

‘Bent did, however, suggest that with the games coming thick and fast, Arteta will have seen enough on Saturday to be confident that Lewis-Skelly could yet have a role to play in midfield during the remainder of the run-in.

‘I genuinely think Mikel Arteta will be looking at that thinking if he doesn’t play against Atletico, he could defintely play against West Ham.

‘I think it’s important to have the right players and evironment around him. Putting him alongside the likes of Declan and Eberechi Eze is key.

‘I think Declan will always talk to him. He had Mark Nolbe for him when he got in that West Ham team.

‘I think it was the perfect environment, the perfect opposition in terms of a team that wasn’t really going to press, although I thought they’d be better. He was just outstanding today.

‘All the little bits he had to do, breaking up play, passing the ball forwards. That was the key, too often in the last few weeks we’ve seen Arsenal players pass the buck and go backwards.

‘That then allows the team to get back into shape and then it’s hard to break down.

‘The moment Lewis-Skelly got it he was on the half-term then boom, where’s Saka, where’s Eze, where’s Trossard.

‘Then when you’ve beaten that press early Arsenal can play in the areas they want.’

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