Jeremie Aliadiere has urged Mikel Arteta to keep Myles Lewis-Skelly and Viktor Gyokeres in Arsenal's starting lineup following their impressive recent displays. The former Arsenal striker believes the duo have been 'sensational' and should not be dropped.
Lewis-Skelly's Rise
Lewis-Skelly, who has spent much of the season on the sidelines, earned his first-ever start in central midfield against Fulham last weekend and delivered a superb performance. He retained his place for the midweek Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, impressing alongside Declan Rice as Arsenal secured a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Aliadiere questioned whether Arteta would risk starting the teenager again, but was full of praise for his composure. 'How do you tell Myles now that he's going to sit on the bench?' Aliadiere told Metro. 'It looks like if he carries on, he'll probably go in and start in the final and play the last two games in the Premier League.'
He added: 'I must say, when I saw he was starting again against Atletico, I thought that was a bit of a risk from Mikel. If Atletico are putting a lot of pressure and don't give him much space, is he going to be able to cope? He hasn't played a lot this season, but he was sensational again. At such a young age, to have the ability and the self-belief, confidence to just take the ball in tight spaces against world-class players in such a pressure game.'
Gyokeres Finding Form
Gyokeres also enjoyed a positive week, delivering his best performance in an Arsenal shirt against Atletico after scoring a brace against Fulham. Despite the return of Kai Havertz from injury, Aliadiere believes Arsenal look far more potent when the Swede starts and plays to his strengths.
'I've just got a feeling that the players have started recognising what he's capable of doing and started playing to his strengths,' Aliadiere said. 'I've always said, those runs have been there from the beginning, he's never stopped making those runs, but the ball was not coming quick enough. So he ended up having to fight with two, three defenders in a very, very tight space.'
He continued: 'Now suddenly, and maybe it's due to Myles coming in the team as a midfielder, suddenly you get ball coming forward much quicker, and suddenly Victor gets 1v1 with defenders in the space of like 20, 45 metres. And it's like, now I can bully the defender.'
Team Chemistry
Aliadiere highlighted the improved link-up play between Gyokeres and teammates, particularly Bukayo Saka. 'Even his link-up play, he holds the ball well, but now he is releasing it very quickly to Bukayo a few times when makes the run. And it's such fluent football, it's brilliant to watch.'
He added: 'But I do feel the team are starting to believe in Victor, and start really thinking, we've got a top player here, we need to utilise him. I'm enjoying us wanting to play forwards. So, yes, it's been refreshing. The last two games have been really good.'
Aliadiere concluded that Arteta should stick with the same lineup for the weekend. 'I can't see the team changing at the weekend. I think the last two performances, we've seen great individual performance, but I think as a team, we look much more refreshed and more dangerous.'
