The first time Erling Haaland met Myles Lewis-Skelly last September, the Manchester City striker had no idea who the Arsenal teenager was.
“Who the **** are you?” he cried at the 18-year-old. “He looks like he’s going to eat him,” added Gary Neville about Haaland’s mannerism towards his opponent.
Fast forward four months – and the only thing Haaland was eating after his next game against Lewis-Skelly was a humble pie come full-time.
The City forward thought he had silenced the Emirates with his second-half equaliser but little did he know that the teenager he mocked 133 days before would end up having the last laugh – in a 5-1 win that made a mockery of Haaland’s “stay humble” comments to Arteta in September.
An Arsenal fan holds up a ‘stay humble sign’ to Erling Haaland
Lewis-Skelly took the game away from City, his dazzling run in the box and finish past Stefan Ortega was the moment Haaland and co knew they could not win this game.
But the 18-year-old’s decision to mock Haaland’s meditation celebration epitomised this young man’s confidence. It even stopped Pep Guardiola in his tracks in his post-match press conference.
Pep Guardiola gives his reaction to Myles Lewis-Skelly emulating Erling Haaland’s go-to celebration as he scored Arsenal’s third goal in a 5-1 trashing at The Emirates
It resulted in Haaland barging over Lewis-Skelly 10 minutes later to concede a foul. Haaland saw, Haaland noticed, Haaland didn’t like it. Perhaps his father didn’t either, judging by his own social media antics.
Lewis-Skelly had that swagger – verging on arrogance – throughout the game. But crucially – and unlike Haaland – who had nine touches of the ball and who Thierry Henry accused of “not doing enough” – the youngster backed his antics regarding Haaland up with a great all-round performance.
He won possession back four times in the middle of the pitch – only William Saliba had a bigger tally. One of those moments saw him shield the ball away from Haaland in the box.
His desire to drive through the midfield saw him win three fouls – no player on the pitch won more and the last one of the game caused that moment of frustration from Haaland. “He is fearless,” said Gary Neville on commentary.
“He is very good at expressing – some players struggle with that,” said Mikel Arteta after the game about Lewis-Skelly’s big strengths.
“He does that in his body language, how he lives the game. He wants to make things happen, he takes initiative. At that age, it’s not easy to see.”
Highlights from the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester City
It was clearly on show – and it reverberated around the team. It was part of a collective message that Arsenal would not be pushed around.
Another flashpoint saw Gabriel celebrate Martin Odegaard’s opener in Haaland’s face after just two minutes. Even the Arsenal PA announcer played Kendrick Lemar’s ‘Sit Down, Be Humble’ track at the full-time whistle.
While Arteta revealed after the big win over City that he wanted his team to focus on the performance – but his players – and his club – had other ideas.
“We had fire in our bellies, we really wanted to amend that,” said player of the match Declan Rice. That included Haaland’s treatment of Lewis-Skelly at the Etihad.
Jamie Carragher says the ongoing needle between Erling Haaland and Gabriel Magalhães will ‘only continue’ after the pair clashed again at the Emirates
But a bigger message Lewis-Skelly sent was to fellow youngster Ethan Nwaneri, brought on with around 10 minutes to go.
The left-back’s goal and confidence showed Nwaneri that anything is possible at this level. So the 17-year-old substitute put one in the bottom corner wirh the last kick of the game.
It meant Nwaneri put one past a Guardiola team at the age of 17 years and 318 days. Only one player has achieved that feat at a younger age. His name is Jude Bellingham.
Jamie Carragher was full of praise for Myles Lewis-Skelly comparing the Arsenal youngster to Jude Bellingham and Wayne Rooney
Arsenal have two youngsters who can help their title charge in any context, in any testing environment. That won’t be enough for many – as further help from the transfer market is needed – but it is a boost. “They play with a lot of purpose and played to contribute and make things happen,” added Arteta.
The Gunners have been here before with Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, two youngsters who came through to stardom together, but the latter has since departed to Fulham.
Arteta’s record for bringing youngsters through has been questioned recently, with Chido Obi Martin and Ayden Heaven jumping ship to Manchester United over the last six months.
But Lewis-Skelly – and Nwaneri – have shown that even the great Haaland – who became one of fastest players to 250 club career goals on Sunday – can be toppled by not just listening to the noise, but embracing it.
The jeers of Arsenal’s players – Lewis-Skelly’s included – may reverberate in Haaland’s head for the rest of the night. He certainly knows who the 18-year-old is now.
