Lee Dixon's Bold Opinion on Myles Lewis-Skelly and Marcus Rashford

Lee Dixon has never been shy of a bold opinion, and this one lands right at the heart of two giants’ futures.

The former Arsenal defender says he would trade highly rated youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly for Marcus Rashford – and he wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

“Would I swap them (Myles Lewis Skelly and Marcus Rashford)? You know what, I probably would,” Dixon told BestBettingSites.

It wasn’t a swipe at the teenager, he stressed, but a belief that both careers might breathe easier in different air. For Lewis-Skelly, that would mean room to grow away from the pressure cooker of Arsenal’s first team. For Rashford, it would mean something else entirely: a reset.

Dixon’s conviction rests on one man – Mikel Arteta. He sees the Arsenal manager’s touch with players as the crucial ingredient in unlocking a forward who has drifted from his peak.

“With Marcus Rashford, he's a player who needs an arm around his shoulder, and Arteta would be great for him. Give him that love, give him the freedom to play on that left side, and yeah, I'd like to see him in an Arsenal shirt,” Dixon said.

Then came the caveat that will echo with many: “I have my reservations about whether he's consistently a top-class player, but based on what Arsenal have in the squad now, he'd be a good addition.”

It’s a fair reflection of where Rashford stands. The talent is not in doubt; the trajectory is.

The forward has been out of the Manchester United picture for a prolonged spell. His last appearance – the 426th of his United career – came in a Europa League tie against Viktoria Plzen on 12 December 2024. Just days earlier, he had reminded everyone of his cutting edge, scoring twice against Everton to reach 138 goals for the club.

Then, silence. Eighteen months of it.

That absence has not pushed him out of the conversation. If anything, it has sharpened the debate. Around Old Trafford, Rashford remains a reference point: what he was, what he is, what he could still be.

United’s manager Michael Carrick knows the equation. If he can drag Rashford back to his best, he effectively gains a new signing without spending a penny. A homegrown forward, still in his prime years, suddenly reborn in a side trying to redefine itself.

For Arsenal, the question is different but just as stark. Would they sacrifice a gifted academy prospect for a proven, if inconsistent, Premier League attacker who might thrive under Arteta’s guidance?

Dixon has nailed his colours to the mast. Now the only thing that matters is whether either club is brave enough to test that theory in the real market, where reputations, careers and seasons can turn on a single roll of the dice.