Arteta breaks silence on Lewis-Skelly after Man Utd offered Arsenal star

Mikel Arteta has refused to rule out selling Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly, saying that he welcomes 'speculation' regarding his players. Lewis-Skelly's future has become a hot topic after he was offered to Manchester United, as Arsenal look to recoup some of the £75million which they spent on new signing Bruno Guimaraes.

Guimaraes' arrival is set to limit game time in midfield for Lewis-Skelly, who United turned down in favour of other targets. That hasn't stopped talk of an exit, although the 19-year-old made his stance clear on Wednesday during a pre-season friendly.

Lewis-Skelly scored in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Como at the Emirates and celebrated by making a heart sign to the crowd before tapping the badge. After full-time, Arteta was asked about Lewis-Skelly's passionate celebration and opted not to put an end to talk of a move away.

"It's good to be emotional after scoring, you should be emotional when you score a goal," the Arsenal boss said. "He's a very emotional player, you see with his gestures on the pitch.

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"I'm not going to talk about speculation. If there is speculation about our players, it's a good sign. That means our players attract attention and are doing a good job."

Chelsea have also been linked with Lewis-Skelly, who signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal last summer. But the Gunners academy product only started five Premier League games last season, with the signing of Piero Hincapie increasing competition for the left-back berth which Lewis-Skelly had made his own earlier in 2025.

He featured in midfield towards the end of the campaign and Arteta has been impressed by his performances over the summer, having played a new role. "He's had a really good pre-season," the Gunners managed added.

"We asked him to play in a different position because he played more as a No.6 - we obviously lacked midfielders from international duty - and I think he had a really consistent pre-season."

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Meanwhile, Arteta confirmed that Arsenal aren't finished in the transfer window, which could hasten the club's efforts to offload the likes of Lewis-Skelly. "There is more that we want to do, because every time we have an opportunity to improve the squad and bring more quality and depth, we need to do that," he explained.

"We're actively trying to do so. The thing is in the market, it doesn't just depend on you, and we're very clear on that.

"The will and the desire of the club is unquestionable, but we cannot promise that we're going to do it because it doesn't only depend on us."