Arsenal: Mikel Arteta explains early Myles Lewis-Skelly substitution in PSV thrashing Gunners youngster was taken off in the first half of Champions League demolition despite not being injured

Myles Lewis-Skelly fouls Richard Ledezma in Arsenal’s Champions League win over PSV

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Mikel Arteta has admitted that he did not want to take any risks with Myles Lewis-Skelly after the Arsenal youngster was substituted in the first half against PSV Eindhoven.

The teenager returned to Arsenal’s starting lineup at left-back for Tuesday night’s one-sided Champions League last-16 first-leg tie in the Netherlands, having been suspended for their last Premier League outing at Nottingham Forest after his red card in the shock home defeat by West Ham.

And while Lewis-Skelly played a part in the initial stages of a stunning attacking display from the resurgent Gunners at Philips Stadion, cutting the ball back for fellow academy graduate Ethan Nwaneri to make it 2-0 after only 21 minutes, he played just 35 minutes in total before being replaced by Riccardo Calafiori, who wrapped up a huge 7-1 victory late on as Arsenal became the first team in Champions League history to score seven times away from home in a knockout contest.

Lewis-Skelly had already been booked for a foul on Luuk de Jong and looked to be very fortunate to avoid a second yellow card for another mistimed challenge on Richard Ledezma, leading Arteta to take the decision to withdraw the teenager before the interval with his side leading 3-0 at the time.

Asked about that substitution after the game, the Arsenal boss confirmed it was not injury-related and he just did not want to risk anything with Lewis-Skelly, though said he did not see the second foul.

“I haven’t seen the second action, but when there is so much noise as well, you play away from home, I didn’t want to take any risk,” Arteta told Amazon Prime Video

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Another dismissal for Lewis-Skelly would have been his second in as many appearances and third in just over a month, though his initial sending off at Wolves in January for a foul on Matt Doherty was hugely contentious and later overturned on appeal.

He was also dismissed against West Ham for bringing down Mohammed Kudus, with an initial yellow card upgraded to red following a VAR review as he was adjudged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity.

Lewis-Skelly now has four yellows across all competitions so far this season, though is still two away from an automatic one-match ban in the Champions League, where three are needed and cautions reset after the quarter-final stage.

One Arsenal player who is risking a potential suspension in Europe though is Jurrien Timber, who received his second booking of the competition so far for time-wasting in the second half against PSV despite Arteta’s men leading 5-1 at the time.