Former Arsenal defender William Gallas has praised Myles Lewis-Skelly for his performance against Manchester City, but has sent the 18-year-old a warning. 

Lewis-Skelly scored his first goal for Arsenal during the Gunners’ 5-1 win against Manchester City over the weekend. The defender was also able to contain the likes of Erling Haaland in City’s attack in what was a superb performance.

After netting his goal, the 18-year-old clapped back at Haaland for his “stay humble” comments after the reverse fixture in September – He emulated the Norwegian’s celebration after scoring.

Former Arsenal defender Gallas was quick to praise the full-back after the game. He told Prime Casino: “What a performance from a boy who has turned into a man. Everyone is now talking about Lewis-Skelly, and rightly so because he had a great game against City. He was defending very well against his opponent.”

However, despite his praise, Gallas issued a warning to Lewis-Skelly to not let the fact that he has become such a talking point affect his future form.

“I think he’s on the right path.” He said, “He still has to improve, that is for sure. He still has to improve his football, and to be the number one for a long time, because we’ve seen it happen to so many young players before, after one season when people speak about you, the media praises you, you can be a little bit more relaxed and lose your focus.

“Football changes very quickly. There’s always a player ready to take your spot, and they are really hungry to be in the first team, so that’s why he has to keep his focus as much as he can.”

Lewis-Skelly chosen by Arteta over £42m signing

Due to his impressive performances for Arsenal recently, Lewis-Skelly is currently getting into Mikel Arteta‘s starting XI ahead of Riccardo Calafiori, who they paid over £40 million for in the summer.

In one of the biggest games of the season for the Gunners, Arteta felt that he could trust starting 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly more than Calafiori, who has much more experience in both domestic and international football.

That says all you need to know about just how good the 18-year-old has been this season, it is nothing against Calafiori – just high praise for Lewis-Skelly.

Despite the fact that Arteta is currently picking Lewis-Skelly, Calafiori has more Premier League appearances this season, more goals, and a higher average match rating (According to WhoScored.com). So he still has more work to do just yet.