{"id":3881,"date":"2026-05-04T20:19:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=3881"},"modified":"2026-05-04T20:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:19:55","slug":"thierry-henry-says-myles-lewis-skellys-future-lies-in-midfield-so-should-he-start-ahead-of-martin-zubimendi-against-atletico-madrid-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=3881","title":{"rendered":"Thierry Henry says Myles Lewis-Skelly&#8217;s future lies in midfield, so should he start ahead of Martin Zubimendi against Atletico Madrid? | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component-name=\"ui-article-body\" data-testid=\"article-body\" data-highlight-intro=\"true\">\n<p>Thierry Henry said Myles Lewis-Skelly&#8217;s future lies in midfield after his &#8220;outstanding&#8221; display against Fulham put him in contention to start the Champions League semi-final with Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n<p>Making his first senior start in his natural midfield berth, and only his third Premier League start of the season, the 19-year-old played an eye-catching role in Arsenal&#8217;s 3-0 win over the Cottagers.<\/p>\n<p>Lewis-Skelly has slipped behind Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie in Mikel Arteta&#8217;s left-back pecking order this season but Henry was impressed by his all-round display in his new role on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I thought like everybody that Declan Rice was outstanding again but Myles was just different,&#8221; Henry said on <em>Monday Night Football<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn\" data-account-id=\"6058004149001\" data-amp-iframe-embed=\"\" data-asset-id=\"dc1c5a9c-43f2-473b-9f7c-079723acc523\" data-asset-path=\"\" data-asset-version=\"\" data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/api.condatis.sky\\\/auth\\\/video\\\/token&quot;,&quot;tokenRequired&quot;:true,&quot;fetchMethod&quot;:&quot;url&quot;,&quot;fetchOptions&quot;:{&quot;encoded&quot;:true},&quot;headers&quot;:{&quot;X-SkyGDP-Proposition&quot;:&quot;sportweb&quot;,&quot;X-SkyGDP-Territory&quot;:&quot;GB&quot;,&quot;Authorization&quot;:&quot;OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=&quot;}}\" data-caption=\"FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League match between Arsenal and Fulham.\" data-clip-type=\"Highlight\" data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-component-name-alias=\"ui-sitewide-video\" data-competition=\"\" data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_dc1c5a9c-43f2-473b-9f7c-079723acc523\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options=\"\" data-originator-id=\"50\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-plclips-gb\" data-package-name=\"\" data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"FkTAlw1HuO\" data-playsinline=\"\" data-sensitive=\"\" data-sdc-id=\"7237526\" data-sdc-video-id=\"dc1c5a9c-43f2-473b-9f7c-079723acc523\" data-sport-category=\"\" data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"football\/premier-league-clips\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids=\"\" data-video-id=\"ref:dc1c5a9c-43f2-473b-9f7c-079723acc523\" data-video-type=\"Highlight\" data-auto-pause-on-not-visible=\"\" data-defer-source=\"\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position=\"\" data-show-closed-captions=\"false\" data-show-pip=\"\" data-show-live-stream-scrubber=\"\" data-autoload=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__inner\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__content\" data-role=\"bridge-controller\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% \/ ());\">\n<p class=\"sdc-site-video__accessibility-message\" data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>          <span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-role=\"poster\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster\"><br \/>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/image_7237527.jpg?20260502193118\" alt=\"preview image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/image_7237527.jpg?20260502193118 600w,https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/1600x900\/image_7237527.jpg?20260502193118\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster-img excluded-image\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-poster\"\/><br \/>\n          <span class=\"sdc-site-video__loader\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-loader\"\/><\/p>\n<p>          <\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <video id=\"id_dc1c5a9c-43f2-473b-9f7c-079723acc523\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id=\"\" class=\"video-js sdc-site-video__tag\" controls=\"\" playsinline=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-video\"\/>\n        <\/div><figcaption class=\"sdc-site-video__caption ui-media-caption\">\n<p>          <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-role=\"caption-text\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-caption\">FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League match between Arsenal and Fulham.<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Not only was he good on the ball, he was good on reading the play, stopping, going to get it. He played really well.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s one thing to be patient, it&#8217;s one thing to be upset about the situation, but he was ready.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He didn&#8217;t look like he hadn&#8217;t played for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He controlled the game, he went forward. He bossed the game at times. That&#8217;s outstanding.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lewis-Skelly&#8217;s performance has led some to call for him to keep his place over over Martin Zubimendi in Tuesday&#8217;s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ui-vendor-monterosa sdc-article-widget\" data-component-name=\"ui-vendor-monterosa\" data-consent=\"pending\" data-vendor-name=\"monterosa\" data-project-id=\"fe80af2d-16d2-4a54-8e1c-bc697a141127\" data-event-id=\"29ca22dd-6ded-4890-a2c6-f1e9862d5690\" data-is-dfl=\"false\" data-testid=\"vendor-monterosa\">\n<section aria-label=\"Consent required\" class=\"ui-consent-roadblock\" data-component-name=\"ui-consent-roadblock\" data-testid=\"consent-roadblock\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" style=\"--width: 7; --height:4;\">\n<div class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body\">\n        <span class=\"ui-consent-roadblock-body__title\" data-testid=\"consent-roadblock-title\">Monterosa<\/span><br \/>\n            <span 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Arteta goes. &#8220;Because of the magnitude of the game, I don&#8217;t know if he&#8217;s going to go a bit more secure, but this guy showed that it might be a new position for him, in terms on next season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn\" data-account-id=\"6057984924001\" data-amp-iframe-embed=\"\" data-asset-id=\"8166d2c2-36ad-4803-8ba2-c27fc6b6f167\" data-asset-path=\"\" data-asset-version=\"\" data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/api.condatis.sky\\\/auth\\\/video\\\/token&quot;,&quot;tokenRequired&quot;:true,&quot;fetchMethod&quot;:&quot;url&quot;,&quot;fetchOptions&quot;:{&quot;encoded&quot;:true},&quot;headers&quot;:{&quot;X-SkyGDP-Proposition&quot;:&quot;sportweb&quot;,&quot;X-SkyGDP-Territory&quot;:&quot;GB&quot;,&quot;Authorization&quot;:&quot;OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=&quot;}}\" data-caption=\"Myles Lewis-Skelly reflects on his hug with Mikel Arteta at full-time following Arsenal's win over Fulham and shares a joke with Paul Merson about starting against Atletico Madrid\" data-clip-type=\"\" data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-component-name-alias=\"ui-sitewide-video\" data-competition=\"\" data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_8166d2c2-36ad-4803-8ba2-c27fc6b6f167\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options=\"\" data-originator-id=\"49\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-sport-gb\" data-package-name=\"\" data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"DESF5xFjJ\" data-playsinline=\"\" data-sensitive=\"\" data-sdc-id=\"7237557\" data-sdc-video-id=\"8166d2c2-36ad-4803-8ba2-c27fc6b6f167\" data-sport-category=\"\" data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"videoplayer\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids=\"\" data-video-id=\"ref:8166d2c2-36ad-4803-8ba2-c27fc6b6f167\" data-video-type=\"\" data-auto-pause-on-not-visible=\"\" data-defer-source=\"\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position=\"\" data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip=\"\" data-show-live-stream-scrubber=\"\" data-autoload=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__inner\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__content\" data-role=\"bridge-controller\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% \/ ());\">\n<p class=\"sdc-site-video__accessibility-message\" data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>          <span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-role=\"poster\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster\"><br \/>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-lewis-skelly-arsenal_7237568.jpg?20260502202115\" alt=\"SNF x Lewis-Skelly\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-lewis-skelly-arsenal_7237568.jpg?20260502202115 600w,https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/1600x900\/skysports-lewis-skelly-arsenal_7237568.jpg?20260502202115\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster-img excluded-image\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-poster\"\/><br \/>\n          <span class=\"sdc-site-video__loader\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-loader\"\/><\/p>\n<p>          <\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <video id=\"id_8166d2c2-36ad-4803-8ba2-c27fc6b6f167\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id=\"\" class=\"video-js sdc-site-video__tag\" controls=\"\" playsinline=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-video\"\/>\n        <\/div><figcaption class=\"sdc-site-video__caption ui-media-caption\">\n<p>          <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-role=\"caption-text\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-caption\">Myles Lewis-Skelly reflects on his hug with Mikel Arteta at full-time following Arsenal&#8217;s win over Fulham and shares a joke with Paul Merson about starting against Atletico Madrid<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;He did extremely well. I wouldn&#8217;t mind if he starts him, but then I understand, because of the magnitude of the game, and how Zubimendi plays sometimes, a little bit more secure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t underestimate experience in these kinds of games. But would I like to see him on Tuesday? Yes, why not?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But Mikel Arteta is the coach.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Carra: Arsenal should keep Rice at No 6<\/h3>\n<p>Jamie Carragher was impressed by the performance of Lewis-Skelly&#8217;s midfield partner Rice against Fulham and feels the 27-year-old should see out the season in the No 6 position.<\/p>\n<p>Rice has been moved to the base of Arsenal&#8217;s midfield in their last two games and followed up a dominant display in Madrid with another assured performance on Saturday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn\" data-account-id=\"6057984924001\" data-amp-iframe-embed=\"\" data-asset-id=\"b8eacd1f-6c3e-415e-9ec3-258a556fbb99\" data-asset-path=\"\" data-asset-version=\"\" data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/api.condatis.sky\\\/auth\\\/video\\\/token&quot;,&quot;tokenRequired&quot;:true,&quot;fetchMethod&quot;:&quot;url&quot;,&quot;fetchOptions&quot;:{&quot;encoded&quot;:true},&quot;headers&quot;:{&quot;X-SkyGDP-Proposition&quot;:&quot;sportweb&quot;,&quot;X-SkyGDP-Territory&quot;:&quot;GB&quot;,&quot;Authorization&quot;:&quot;OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=&quot;}}\" data-caption=\"Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal have more dynamism with Declan Rice playing deeper in midfield instead of Martin Zubimendi\" data-clip-type=\"\" data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-component-name-alias=\"ui-sitewide-video\" data-competition=\"\" data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_b8eacd1f-6c3e-415e-9ec3-258a556fbb99\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options=\"\" data-originator-id=\"49\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-sport-gb\" data-package-name=\"\" data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"DESF5xFjJ\" data-playsinline=\"\" data-sensitive=\"\" data-sdc-id=\"7239220\" data-sdc-video-id=\"b8eacd1f-6c3e-415e-9ec3-258a556fbb99\" data-sport-category=\"\" data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"videoplayer\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids=\"\" data-video-id=\"ref:b8eacd1f-6c3e-415e-9ec3-258a556fbb99\" data-video-type=\"\" data-auto-pause-on-not-visible=\"\" data-defer-source=\"\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position=\"\" data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip=\"\" data-show-live-stream-scrubber=\"\" data-autoload=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__inner\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__content\" data-role=\"bridge-controller\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% \/ ());\">\n<p class=\"sdc-site-video__accessibility-message\" data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>          <span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-role=\"poster\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster\"><br \/>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-arsenal-premier-league_7239245.jpg?20260504202518\" alt=\"Arsenal: Jamie Carragher: More DYNAMISM with Declan Rice than Martin Zubimendi in midfield\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-arsenal-premier-league_7239245.jpg?20260504202518 600w,https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/1600x900\/skysports-arsenal-premier-league_7239245.jpg?20260504202518\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster-img excluded-image\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-poster\"\/><br \/>\n          <span class=\"sdc-site-video__loader\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-loader\"\/><\/p>\n<p>          <\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <video id=\"id_b8eacd1f-6c3e-415e-9ec3-258a556fbb99\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id=\"\" class=\"video-js sdc-site-video__tag\" controls=\"\" playsinline=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-video\"\/>\n        <\/div><figcaption class=\"sdc-site-video__caption ui-media-caption\">\n<p>          <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-role=\"caption-text\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-caption\">Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal have more dynamism with Declan Rice playing deeper in midfield instead of Martin Zubimendi<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Myles Lewis-Skelly was fantastic, but I think a big thing for me in Arsenal&#8217;s last two games was Declan Rice going deeper,&#8221; added Carragher on <em>Monday Night Football<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a bit more dynamism with Rice rather than Zubimendi in that position. He&#8217;s onto things quicker and passes it quicker, he&#8217;s sharper.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think he&#8217;s a complete midfield player. He can play the six and the eight. It doesn&#8217;t make too much difference.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But when I was watching him play, it almost looked like he was really enjoying it, running everywhere for the ball.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\" data-testid=\"article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"768x432\" src=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-premier-league-arsenal_7237471.jpg?20260502183717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/384x216\/skysports-premier-league-arsenal_7237471.jpg?20260502183717 380w, https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-premier-league-arsenal_7237471.jpg?20260502183717 760w, https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/1600x900\/skysports-premier-league-arsenal_7237471.jpg?20260502183717 1024w, https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/2048x1152\/skysports-premier-league-arsenal_7237471.jpg?20260502183717 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Viktor Gyokeres celebrates with Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard after giving Arsenal a 3-0 lead against Fulham\" data-testid=\"article-image-image\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption-text\">Viktor Gyokeres celebrates with Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard after giving Arsenal a 3-0 lead against Fulham<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;It was almost like, &#8216;I&#8217;m back in my position, in the six. I can get on the ball a little bit easier.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I thought he was outstanding at the weekend. I thought he played really well and controlled the game against Madrid as well.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think going forward, even if Zubimendi plays, just leave him there at six for now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Carragher feels Arteta&#8217;s midfield adjustments have helped Arsenal in the wake of their 2-1 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I saw improvements in midweek away from home. They handled that well against Atletico Madrid. There was a 20-minute spell that was ropey but I&#8217;ve played in semi-finals away from home and they&#8217;re tough.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn\" data-account-id=\"6057984924001\" data-amp-iframe-embed=\"\" data-asset-id=\"7dce28fb-d007-4c4d-b358-f504ad9108fe\" data-asset-path=\"\" data-asset-version=\"\" data-autoplay=\"false\" data-auth-config=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/api.condatis.sky\\\/auth\\\/video\\\/token&quot;,&quot;tokenRequired&quot;:true,&quot;fetchMethod&quot;:&quot;url&quot;,&quot;fetchOptions&quot;:{&quot;encoded&quot;:true},&quot;headers&quot;:{&quot;X-SkyGDP-Proposition&quot;:&quot;sportweb&quot;,&quot;X-SkyGDP-Territory&quot;:&quot;GB&quot;,&quot;Authorization&quot;:&quot;OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA=&quot;}}\" data-caption=\"Mikel Arteta says he is hungry to reach Champions League final ahead of Arsenal's semi-final clash with Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium\" data-clip-type=\"\" data-component-name=\"sdc-site-video\" data-component-name-alias=\"ui-sitewide-video\" data-competition=\"\" data-copy-url-text=\"URL copied to clipboard\" data-fn=\"sdc-site-video\" data-id=\"id_7dce28fb-d007-4c4d-b358-f504ad9108fe\" data-is-live-stream=\"false\" data-lite=\"true\" data-options=\"\" data-originator-id=\"49\" data-originator-handle=\"brightcove-sport-gb\" data-package-name=\"\" data-provider=\"brightcove\" data-player-id=\"DESF5xFjJ\" data-playsinline=\"\" data-sensitive=\"\" data-sdc-id=\"7239193\" data-sdc-video-id=\"7dce28fb-d007-4c4d-b358-f504ad9108fe\" data-sport-category=\"\" data-state=\"loading\" data-token-state=\"none\" data-video-ad-unit=\"videoplayer\" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids=\"\" data-video-id=\"ref:7dce28fb-d007-4c4d-b358-f504ad9108fe\" data-video-type=\"\" data-auto-pause-on-not-visible=\"\" data-defer-source=\"\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-closed-captions-position=\"\" data-show-closed-captions=\"true\" data-show-pip=\"\" data-show-live-stream-scrubber=\"\" data-autoload=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__inner\">\n<div class=\"sdc-site-video__content\" data-role=\"bridge-controller\" style=\"padding-bottom: calc(100% \/ ());\">\n<p class=\"sdc-site-video__accessibility-message\" data-role=\"accessibility-message\">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n<p>          <span aria-hidden=\"true\" data-role=\"poster\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster\"><br \/>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-arteta-arsenal-football_7239207.jpg?20260504193605\" alt=\"Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid: Mikel Arteta is hungry to reach Champions League final\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-arteta-arsenal-football_7239207.jpg?20260504193605 600w,https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/1600x900\/skysports-arteta-arsenal-football_7239207.jpg?20260504193605\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"sdc-site-video__poster-img excluded-image\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-poster\"\/><br \/>\n          <span class=\"sdc-site-video__loader\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-loader\"\/><\/p>\n<p>          <\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <video id=\"id_7dce28fb-d007-4c4d-b358-f504ad9108fe\" data-embed=\"default\" data-application-id=\"\" class=\"video-js sdc-site-video__tag\" controls=\"\" playsinline=\"\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-video\"\/>\n        <\/div><figcaption class=\"sdc-site-video__caption ui-media-caption\">\n<p>          <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-role=\"caption-text\" data-testid=\"sitewide-video-caption\">Mikel Arteta says he is hungry to reach Champions League final ahead of Arsenal&#8217;s semi-final clash with Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I thought that was a step forward, in the performance as well as the result.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Against Fulham, it felt like the energy was back, it didn&#8217;t feel like they were under stress.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One thing I&#8217;ve felt with Arsenal lately is that it&#8217;s looked like they&#8217;ve been fatigued.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think he needed to do something in midfield, it&#8217;s just whether he sticks with it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And maybe Zubimendi just needed a rest and he comes back refreshed. But I was really worried about Arsenal&#8217;s central midfield.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Henry: This is the Saka I want to see<\/h3>\n<p>Bukayo Saka also earned praise from the <em>Monday Night Football<\/em> team having scored one goal and set up another on his first start since the Carabao Cup final against Fulham.<\/p>\n<p>Henry felt the England international was initially too hesitant in trying to beat his man during the game, but got his rewards for being brave as the afternoon progressed.<\/p>\n<p>After beating Raul Jimenez to set up Viktor Gyokeres for the opening goal, Saka buried the second himself to raise hopes of a strong finish to a difficult campaign.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\" data-testid=\"article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"768x432\" src=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-bukayo-saka-arsenal_7237448.jpg?20260502182839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/384x216\/skysports-bukayo-saka-arsenal_7237448.jpg?20260502182839 380w, https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/768x432\/skysports-bukayo-saka-arsenal_7237448.jpg?20260502182839 760w, https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/1600x900\/skysports-bukayo-saka-arsenal_7237448.jpg?20260502182839 1024w, https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/05\/2048x1152\/skysports-bukayo-saka-arsenal_7237448.jpg?20260502182839 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring Arsenal's second goal against Fulham\" data-testid=\"article-image-image\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption-text\">Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring Arsenal&#8217;s second goal against Fulham<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what I wanted to see from Bukayo,&#8221; said Henry. &#8220;That&#8217;s what we need to see from Bukayo against Atletico, until the end of the season, and next year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Go back to what you were. Dribble, go forward, be brave.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You defend as a unit. Offensively, in the last third, it&#8217;s about you, what you&#8217;re about to do, your brain and your creativity.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you when to shoot or dummy someone. It comes naturally. But be brave with it. Miss, go again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thierry Henry said Myles Lewis-Skelly&#8217;s future lies in midfield after his &#8220;outstanding&#8221; display against Fulham&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}