Carragher bedazzled by ‘spectacular’ Arsenal star with gushing Wayne Rooney comparison made

Jamie Carragher has sung the praises of rising Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly and explained why the teenager ‘reminds’ him of Manchester United and England icon Wayne Rooney.

Lewis-Skelly is enjoying a breakout season at Arsenal and faced his biggest test yet on Tuesday night when Real Madrid came to the Emirates in the Champions League quarter-finals. The 18-year-old passed this test with flying colours as he put in a classy performance in the inverted left full-back role.

Lewis-Skelly was not only strong defensively, keeping Rodrygo quiet for large parts of the match, but he also stepped into midfield confidently and helped Arsenal to overload their opponents.

The two-cap England international helped Arsenal’s midfielders to frustrate and dominate top Real Madrid stars including Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga. Arsenal ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at the Emirates thanks to two sensational Declan Rice free-kicks and a smart Mikel Merino finish, but Lewis-Skelly also caught the eye.

On CBS Sports’ post-match coverage, Liverpool Champions League winner Carragher hailed Lewis-Skelly’s ability to receive the ball in tough situations, similar to what Rooney did from a young age.

The pundit said: “You talk about full-backs, you think of, at Liverpool, with Trent [Alexander-Arnold], they’re a little bit different, they’re not a normal full-back, you [Micah Richards] just mentioned what a young full-back would be. More often than not, if a young player comes through at a club, the easiest position to come through is probably full-back.

“You did, I did that, you sort of bed yourself into the game because I’m not saying [it’s] an easy position but you don’t have to spectacular if you like. But he [Lewis-Skelly] is spectacular at left-back and he looks like almost one of the best players in the Arsenal team.

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Myles Lewis-Skelly has ‘football arrogance’

“He’s gone into central midfield, he’s receiving the ball on the half-turn, he’s got [Kylian] Mbappe, Vini Jr either side of him. He’s taking responsibility and that’s where I go back to a bit of football arrogance.

“And it’s not about position, it reminds me a little bit of [Jude] Bellingham at that age, also Wayne Rooney.

“So, when Wayne Rooney first came into the England squad and I was in the squad, it was almost like, ‘I’m the best player, give me the ball.’

“No fear, he’d take the ball in difficult situations where we were young players, you’d come in, you were like, you’d want to get your first pass in a game, don’t give the ball away, you’d almost want to build into a game, build your confidence, he’s got that thing where he’s 26 and he’s been playing all his life. Yeah, he’s very, very special.”

Arsenal reaction: Bellingham on Rice goals; Arteta’s ‘magnum opus’

After the game, Madrid ace Bellingham admitted his side were ‘nowhere near it’.

He also praised his fellow England midfielder Rice for his ‘two great pieces of individual quality’.

Arsenal supporters have also been raving about the performance on social media, calling it Mikel Arteta’s ‘magnum opus’ [work of art].

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