Arsenal Considers Exiting Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri as Sales Loom
Arsenal chief executive Tim Lewis-Garlick has refused to shut the door on two of the club’s brightest academy prospects leaving this summer, as the Premier League champions weigh up sales to fund the next phase of their title defence.
With the window entering its final stretch, the equation at the Emirates is blunt: Arsenal may have to sell before they can buy.
Sales on the table as Arsenal eye reinforcements
Mikel Arteta has already moved with restraint in the market, adding Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimaraes to a squad that climbed to the summit last season. The manager still wants more. Another defender to cover for the injured William Saliba. A fresh attacking option to sharpen an already ruthless front line.
To make that happen, homegrown talent could be the collateral.
Ethan Nwaneri currently looks closest to the exit. The teenager was left out of the matchday squad for Sunday’s Community Shield victory over Manchester City, a notable omission at a time when his future is being weighed up.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, by contrast, was right at the heart of things. He delivered a commanding display in midfield in that same win, a performance that has only intensified outside interest. The England youth international has since been linked with a £45 million move, with Manchester United and Chelsea both circling.
Speaking to the BBC, Garlick made it clear Arsenal are not pushing either youngster towards the door – but he also made no promise they would stay.
Garlick: ‘We’d obviously consider that’
“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,” Garlick 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 message is nuanced but unmistakable. Arsenal will listen. The right bid, the right situation for the players, and a deal is on.
That stance lands at a time when elite homegrown players command a premium, especially between rival clubs. A £45m fee for Lewis-Skelly, or a sizeable sum for Nwaneri, would give Arteta and the recruitment team serious room to manoeuvre late in the window.
Pride in the academy, pressure in the market
Behind the hard business lines, Arsenal are keen to stress what those players represent. Both Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri have impressed throughout pre-season, catching the eye of Arteta’s staff and energising supporters who crave academy success stories in a title-winning side.
“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,” Garlick added. “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 is the tension at Arsenal now. A club fiercely proud of Hale End, yet operating at a level where every asset has a price and every window demands tough decisions.
The champions want another defender. They want another forward. The money has to come from somewhere. Whether that cost is paid in the currency of youth remains the sharpest question of their summer.
