England under-21 boss Lee Carsley has praised the “great attitude” of Myles Lewis-Skelly and backed him to make an impact with Arsenal if given a chance this season.
Lewis-Skelly made his debut for the senior team under Thomas Tuchel in 2025 and went on to earn six full caps, but decided to drop down to be part of Carsley’s group for this month’s international camp after a lack of starts at club level.
After Lewis-Skelly made his first appearance for under-21s in Friday’s 1-1 draw in Andorra, the 19-year-old is set for another opportunity on Tuesday in a European Championship qualifier against Moldova at Carrow Road.
“He’s shown such a great attitude and it’s really benefited him this week playing minutes and training at a good level,” Carsley said of Lewis-Skelly.
“I think that’s one of the things that we always look for with the [senior] players and I’m thinking of Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento, Rico [Lewis]. A lot of players have done that, so Myles is not on his own.
“We look at attitude, we look at the desire to play and he was really enthusiastic about coming to the 21s. He sees that potentially as a route into getting minutes and then potentially going to play for Arsenal and then England.
“He had such a rise so quickly and this is football. This is what happens. There is lots of ups and downs, but he’s responded well to it this camp.”
Myles Lewis-Skelly has struggled for game time at Arsenal this year. Getty
Carsley believes Lewis-Skelly will be better equipped to answer any call from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta over the next two months following this period with the under-21s.
He added: “I think you can train all you want, but there is nothing like match minutes where you are competing against someone and the intensity of it.
“The fact now that he’s potentially going back having played a lot of minutes for England puts him a strong position where, if he is called upon or gets a chance, he is ready to go. He doesn’t 1774902328 need one or two games, which you don’t get at that level, to bed in.”
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England will be without Genoa defender Brooke Norton-Cuffy against Moldova due to a hamstring injury, but Tottenham midfielder Archie Gray is primed for minutes after being rested for Friday’s surprise 1-1 draw with Andorra.
“It was a unique experience in Andorra. The amount of times that our players will play on a plastic pitch in minus five in a hurricane is probably going to be few and far between, but it’s a brilliant experience,” Carsley said.
“These teams are highly motivated to beat England and we have to match that energy and enthusiasm.”