Chelsea have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Myles Lewis-Skelly, with Fabrizio Romano revealing that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta does not want the left-back to leave the Emirates Stadium in the January transfer window.<\/p>\n
Lewis-Skelly is one of the best young players in the Premier League, and it hardly came as a surprise when it emerged this week that Chelsea<\/a> have taken a shine to the Arsenal left-back. Although the 19-year-old defender has made two starts in the Champions League and has played twice in the Carabao Cup for Arsenal so far this season, all seven of Lewis-Skelly\u2019s appearances in the Premier League have come as a substitute.<\/p>\n Chelsea reporter Simon Phillips has reported that Chelsea have done\u00a0\u2018background checks\u2019 on Lewis-Skelly<\/a> leading up to the January transfer window.<\/p>\n Last season\u2019s Conference League winners have made a habit of signing the best young players in the world in recent years, with Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer and Estevao being three prime examples.<\/p>\n Arsenal<\/a>, though, are in no mood to let Lewis-Skelly leave, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano<\/a>, who has claimed that the likes of manager Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta have made the decision that the 19-year-old will stay, with the north London outfit considering him as one of the best young players on the planet.<\/p>\n Romano said about Lewis-Skelly on his YouTube channel<\/a>: \u201cMy information, guys, is that Arsenal, and with maximum respect with all the colleagues who have their own information, but my information is that Arsenal at this stage are not considering an exit for Myles Lewis-Skelly.<\/p>\n \u201cArsenal see Myles Lewis-Skelly as an absolutely important and crucial player.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, in that position, there is also Riccardo Calafiori, but Calafiori also had some injuries in recent years, and so Arsenal don\u2019t want to face any risk of having players out and being in an emergency situation in the second half of the season, in this kind of season, a crucial season for Arsenal.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to win titles, they need to win titles, they can win titles, and to let a crucial, important player like Myles Lewis-Skelly leave in the January transfer window despite reports of interest from clubs for a loan.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys, I think it would be absolutely obvious to have interest from some clubs in Myles Lewis-Skelly.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is one of the best youngsters in the world, so it\u2019s absolutely normal and obvious to have these kinds of reports, but in terms of reality, in terms of possibilities for the boy to leave the club in the January transfer window, let me say, I am not aware of that.<\/p>\n \u201cI am told that Arsenal, and when I say Arsenal, it is the directors, the technical staff, the coach Mikel Arteta, they all want Myles Lewis-Skelly to stay and be part of their project.\u201d<\/p>\n DON\u2019T MISS\u00a0<\/strong>\ud83d\udd34\u26aa\u00a0THREE Arsenal stars up for sale including \u2018talent of the century\u2019 as Andrea Berta gets ruthless \u2013 report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Nacho Monreal\u00a0tells Myles Lewis-Skelly to stay at Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n Former Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal\u00a0has also urged Lewis-Skelly to stay put at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n Goal quotes Monreal as saying about Lewis-Skelly: \u201cI really like Lewis-Skelly. I think he\u2019s one of the best left-backs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he plays, when I see him, he\u2019s something special. Of course, he\u2019s not playing because Calafiori is playing so well.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is nothing against Calafiori, but Lewis-Skelly is different.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you see him play, you will see him most of the time in the middle of the game. He\u2019s not a typical left-back.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I compare myself with Lewis-Skelly, I was more in the left side, go to the side, but he comes often into the middle.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s really good technically, how he receives the ball, how he turns, how he\u2019s always playing forward.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to be in the squad for the World Cup, because obviously if you want to be in the squad you need to play in your team.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not playing right now, but if we are talking only about his level, yes, he\u2019s a top, top left-back. He\u2019s going to make a lot of appearances as an Arsenal player, 100 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n Latest Arsenal transfer news: Gunners preference, Liverpool raid<\/strong><\/p>\n In other news, a Real Madrid superstar prefers a move to Arsenal to joining Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> if he is to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.<\/p>\n