Man Utd are looking at left-backs in the summer transfer window and Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly is on their radar as he looks likely to leave the Emirates Stadium.
06:00, 01 Apr 2026
Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ayden Heaven were teammates at Arsenal and could be reunited at Old Trafford
The path from academy talent at Arsenal to first-team chances at Manchester United is becoming a well-worn one, and Myles Lewis-Skelly won’t have to work too hard if he wants the lowdown on life at Old Trafford this summer.
United are in the market for a young left-back to eventually replace Luke Shaw this summer, and Lewis-Skelly is a name on their radar, with the expectation that the 19-year-old will leave the Emirates in search of more regular first-team football.
The Hale End academy graduate has started just one Premier League game this season, dropping from England’s first-choice left-back to Arsenal bench warmer, and with Mikel Arteta likely to try and strengthen his squad again, cashing in on academy graduates who count as pure profit will be tempting.
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Lewis-Skelly has only made it off the bench in one of Arsenal’s previous 12 games and Arteta’s demand for physical defenders could cost the more technically assured but slight defender his Gunners career. United will be one of several clubs waiting in the wings if that is the case.
Although he came through the ranks as a midfielder, he has developed into a modern full-back, capable of staying wide but often inverting into the centre of the pitch. There are other names on United’s radar, but Lewis-Skelly’s youth and Premier League experience might make him an attractive option as a long-term successor to Shaw, who enters the final year of his contract next season.
Arsenal will certainly be wary of losing another promising young player to United, even if Lewis-Skelly will command more of a transfer fee. Prolific youth striker Chido Obi swapped the Emirates for Old Trafford as a 16-year-old in 2024 and he has already had first-team opportunities, while Ayden Heaven joined United from Arsenal in January 2025 for just £1.5million.
That looks like a steal for the 19-year-old centre-back, who has already made 21 first-team appearances, a tally that would have been higher but for an injury he picked up in a win at Leicester City last March. He made his England Under-20 debut during this international break and remains part of the first-team squad at Old Trafford.
He can certainly vouch for the senior opportunities available to young players at United, should Lewis-Skelly ask his former Arsenal academy teammate. Injuries might have initially opened the door for Obi and Heaven at United, but there were no concerns about throwing both in.
Obi, 18, has since retreated to academy football to further develop his game, but Heaven’s immediate impact saw him rise up the pecking order in the centre of defence.
Lewis-Skelly, Heaven and Obi were Arsenal teammates for a long time, most recently playing together in Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League in 2023/24. Two of them have already felt the need to move from London to Manchester to boost their chances of playing first-team football, and if United follow up on tentative interest in Lewis-Skelly this summer, it could turn into an unwanted hat-trick for Arsenal.
2026-04-01 05:00:00
