Rio Ferdinand baffled by ‘mad’ Mikel Arteta decision to drop ‘joke’ Arsenal star: ‘What’s he done?’

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand thinks Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly must have done “something wrong” to be dropped by Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners fought back from 1-0 down to beat Newcastle 2-1 over the weekend to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to two points.

Arne Slot’s side dropped their first points of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday and Arsenal took full advantage at St James’ Park on Sunday.

A 84th-minute Mikel Merino header got Arsenal back on level terms before Gabriel Magalhaes struck in the sixth minute of injury time to steal all three points.

Despite the good result, Ferdinand was critical of Arsenal boss Arteta for dropping Lewis-Skelly this season in favour of Italy international Riccardo Calafiori.

Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: “Do you know the thing I find mad about Arsenal? What’s Lewis-Skelly done? What’s he done?

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“He came on [as an 88th-minute substitute] late yesterday [in the 2-1 win over Newcastle United]. Listen, the replacement is an Italian international [Calafiori] and a good player, don’t get me wrong. I like him.

“But sometimes you have to do something wrong to get out of the team, surely? Or has Lewis-Skelly just played a lot of football as a young kid so they’re giving him a breather? I would love to know what’s happened.”

When asked if Calafiori was a more “complete player” than 19-year-old Lewis-Skelly, Ferdinand added: “No way. No way.

“Lewis-Skelly is better on the ball in midfield and I didn’t see him get beat defensively last season except when he got a couple of red cards.

“I watched him in big games last season and he looked so unfazed, it was a joke. I can’t believe he’s not in the team.

“It’s probably because Calafiori is bigger and better defensively in the air. But Lewis-Skelly can defend too but also looks great on the ball.”

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Commenting on his side’s performance in the win over Newcastle, Arteta said: “I feel pride. I think we fully deserved the win after the way we played, performed and competed.

“With the chances we generated, we deserved to win even if we did it in a dramatic way.

“That’s how you get to a different level, by going through those moments and taking lessons from it.

“It was a massive opportunity to show who we are because they are a terrific team and they are so difficult to play against. The level of consistency and quality we showed was top.

“We want to achieve the next level and to do that you have to come to these places and you have to win. You have to find a way to do it. It was tremendous.”

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