The 19-year-old England international has made 75 appearances for his boyhood club and earned six senior caps. He broke into Mikel Arteta's side during the 2024-25 season, impressing as Arsenal finished second in the Premier League and advanced deep into the Champions League. His performances earned him a nomination for the PFA Young Player of the Year award and a new long-term contract.
Lewis-Skelly was expected to kick on last season and become one of the most important members of Arsenal's squad, but he struggled for game time in the first half of the campaign, playing back-up to Riccardo Calafiori. However, he demonstrated his value at the business end of the season, helping Arsenal secure their first Premier League title since 2004 and reach the Champions League final, where he started against Paris Saint-Germain as the second-youngest English player ever to do so, ending on the losing side after a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat.
United revive interest
That productive run of form appeared to end speculation over Lewis-Skelly's future, but The Independent say Manchester United have revived their interest in a summer deal. United are "investigating" whether Arsenal would be willing to sell, though the Gunners would currently "prefer" to keep him at the Emirates Stadium.
The situation could change should Arteta complete deals for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior. Arsenal could look to trim their squad if both arrive, although they are not actively seeking to sell Lewis-Skelly.
Lewis-Skelly, however, was left out of Thomas Tuchel's England squad for this summer's World Cup.
Arteta on Lewis-Skelly
Speaking last season, Arteta admitted he had been "tough" on Lewis-Skelly and hinted he may have made a mistake by playing him so rarely in the early part of the campaign. After the teenager impressed in a new midfield role, Arteta said: "He fully deserves it. I've been tough on him. He had a spectacular season last year when he jumped into the first team. He had some difficult moments after that, but he stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we wanted to do, and I knew he was ready. He's been showing in training every day the opportunities that he had to play. He's done it and today he really stepped up and I thought he had an incredible performance."
Asked why it had taken him so long to give Lewis-Skelly a chance to impress in midfield, Arteta added: "Because probably I don't have a clue and maybe I should have done it earlier, I don't know. But I have to do things when I believe that the player is ready, the team is ready and the opponent is the right one to play with him in that position. We've done it today, it's the first time. It was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen, if he wasn't this great, we would have lost the game. How do you play a kid at this age, in this scenario, in a position that he hasn't played all season? I knew that but I had the feeling that it was the right game for him."
Transfer activity at both clubs
Arsenal have already sold Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior this summer, while Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Christian Norgaard could all be moved on. Manchester United, meanwhile, have signed Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow, and are working on a deal for Newcastle's Lewis Hall.
