Emmanuel Petit has called for Myles Lewis-Skelly to keep his feet on the ground following his imitation of Erling Haaland’s celebration.
The young Gunner netted Arsenal’s third in their emphatic 5-1 victory over Manchester City earlier this month, then struck a pose reminiscent of Haaland’s zen-like celebration. While some have overlooked the youngster’s exuberance, former Arsenal and Chelsea star Petit wasn’t too pleased.
In a chat with CasinoHawks, Petit, who wore the Arsenal shirt 118 times, said: “Myles Lewis-Skelly has to show more maturity and my main piece of advice would be to stay humble. Stay humble, do your talking on the pitch. I’ve been impressed with his performances so far but the mocking of Erling Haaland and Manchester City… come on.”
Petit also pointed out that karma seemed to catch up with Lewis-Skelly last weekend when he was sent off during Arsenal’s narrow defeat to West Ham. Behind by a goal after Jarrod Bowen’s first-half finish, Lewis-Skelly was dismissed for hauling down Mohammed Kudus during a breakaway, an action initially deemed only worthy of a yellow by referee Craig Pawson until VAR intervened.
Petit didn’t mince his words regarding the disciplinary issues at Arsenal, adding (via the Mirror): “It’s karma, you need to focus on winning each game and now it’s another red card. How many stupid red cards have Arsenal had this season and even since Mikel Arteta arrived?
“Arsenal lost to West Ham and the players take the blame alongside Arteta. Arsenal have not been able to show their quality when it matters and although mathematically they can do it, they don’t have the character and the personality for that.”
(Image: Daily Mirror)
The consequences of indiscipline were felt as Lewis-Skelly served a one-match suspension, missing Arsenal’s goalless draw against Nottingham Forest. As hopes of claiming their first Premier League title since the ‘Invincibles’ fade, Arsenal languish in second, 13 points adrift of Liverpool who’ve lost just once this term.
The two will meet on May 10 at Anfield, by which time the title could be wrapped up. The Gunners could be in a significantly better position heading into that match than they currently are, however, with their attacking options limited as Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka continue to be sidelined through injury.
Arteta’s next focus will be on PSV in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday, before a Premier League clash with Manchester United five days later.
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