Paul Scholes Critiques Arsenal's Transfer Strategy Over Myles Lewis-Skelly

Paul Scholes has torn into Arsenal’s transfer thinking, accusing the club of targeting the wrong sacrifice as speculation swirls around Myles Lewis-Skelly’s future.

The 19-year-old midfielder has been linked with a surprise move to Premier League rivals, with reports suggesting Arsenal have sounded out both Chelsea and Manchester United over a potential deal. For Scholes, that idea borders on reckless.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, the Manchester United great made his stance brutally clear – and even named the player he believes should be moved on instead.

"I prefer Lewis-Skelly in centre midfield to Zubimendi," Scholes said. "I think Zubimendi struggled last year. If there’s one player you are going to get rid of, it would be him."

No hesitation. No softening of the blow. Scholes is convinced Arsenal are on the verge of making the wrong call.

He then widened the argument, moving away from pure footballing ability and into the heart of club identity. Losing a homegrown prospect, he argued, cuts far deeper than offloading an external signing who has yet to fully convince.

Scholes drew on his own past at Old Trafford, recalling a decision that still grates with him years later.

"It reminds me a little bit of when Danny Welbeck left Manchester United. I hated it, didn’t like it. Now, Danny was a little bit older than Myles Lewis-Skelly, but when you’re losing your own players, it’s disappointing."

The message was clear: academy products should be the last to go, not the first.

Jamie Carragher is just as baffled. The Liverpool legend admitted he struggled to get his head around the notion that Arsenal might be actively pushing Lewis-Skelly towards domestic rivals rather than fighting to build around him.

Reports earlier in the week suggested Arsenal had floated Lewis-Skelly’s name to Chelsea and Manchester United. That detail stuck with Carragher.

"Do you think it’s from his side or the club’s side? That’s the thing that was a little bit strange about it," he said. "It felt almost like Arsenal offered Manchester United Myles Lewis-Skelly. It wasn’t Myles Lewis-Skelly saying I want to leave or his people putting something out. That’s where the shock came from. I still can’t believe it."

For Carragher, the very idea jars with what the teenager has already shown on big nights in Europe. He underlined just how rare it is for a player of that age to look at home at that level.

"You can’t play at that level unless you’re pretty special at that age. All young players have ups and downs. Last season he didn’t play as much as he probably would have liked."

That, in Carragher’s eyes, is part of the natural development curve, not a reason to cash in.

Arsenal’s stance, though, remains deliberately murky. When Mikel Arteta was finally pressed on Lewis-Skelly’s future this week, the Gunners boss chose his words carefully and refused to either shut the door on a sale or fan the flames.

"I’m not going to talk about any speculation," Arteta said. "If there is a speculation about our players, that’s a good sign."

Diplomatic, yes. Definitive, no.

So the question lingers over north London: do Arsenal double down on a high-profile signing who has yet to fully convince, or do they risk repeating the kind of academy departure that still irritates legends like Scholes and bewilders peers like Carragher?