Mikel Arteta tipped to drop ‘off it’ Arsenal star after Sunderland win – ‘he might not get back in’

Lewis Oldham 14 Sep 2026 9:50 AM

Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline for Arsenal.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has been tipped to drop Myles Lewis-Skelly after his side’s 2-0 win against Sunderland.

After being heavily linked with an exit in the summer, Lewis-Skelly has played a key role for Arsenal at the start of this campaign.

There were fears that Lewis-Skelly could opt to leave, partly because opportunities could be hard to come by following the signings of Piero Hincapie and Bruno Guimaraes in the summer.

However, Lewis-Skelly has started while Guimaraes has been recovering from a minor injury, though the summer signing replaced the Englishman at half-time during Saturday’s game against Sunderland.

And this change contributed to Arsenal beating Sunderland, with Guimaraes scoring from distance to break the deadlock before Bukayo Saka’s late penalty sealed a 2-0 win.

READ: Raya and Arsenal exorcise Sunderland demons to show strength of champions

Now, former Premier League striker Jermaine Defoe has tipped Guimaraes to replace Lewis-Skelly in Arsenal’s starting XI for this weekend’s game against Brighton.

“That’s what you want, that luxury as a manager to have that squad and have that quality,” Defoe said on Premier League Productions when asked whether Lewis-Skelly is now likely to be dropped for Bruno Guimaraes.

“He might not get back in the team now…”

“If you get an injury, you might not get back in the team.

“Or if you’re off it a little bit like Myles was in the first-half, you get dragged off and then Bruno comes in and he might not get back in the team now for a couple months.

“He [Guimaraes] has got that quality, that’s why they signed him.

“Eberechi Eze’s another one, he can’t get in the team. Someone with that quality can’t get in the team and that’s what happens. Once you get your opportunity, whether that’s coming on or you start, you have to take it.”

Former England defender Matthew Upson, meanwhile, thinks Lewis-Skelly is “top-class” and would be able to “handle” being dropped.

“That’s the crazy part about being in a squad like Arsenal,” Upson added.

“You’ve either got to have the stomach for that or not because you’re not guaranteed that place every [match].

“The moment you might just drop off it or even if the change needs to happen because the manager wants something a little bit different, you have to accept the fact that you might step out and then you got to work hard again to get back in.

“I know Lewis-Skelly, his attitude’s absolutely top-class, he can handle it.”

Arsenal Bruno Guimaraes