Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly receives Ashley Cole comparison verdict after record-breaking England debut

The 18-year-old is currently preparing for a potential second England cap against Latvia on Monday evening after a historic debut against Albania, where he became the youngest-ever England debutant to score for the senior men's team in that 2-0 World Cup 2026 Qualifying win.

Lewis-Skelly's Arsenal predecessor Cole coincidentally also made his England debut against Albania, having come through the Gunners' youth system to become a Premier League and FA Cup-winning left-back before his acrimonious departure for Chelsea.

While Watts has Lewis-Skelly and Cole are fundamentally different defenders, he has conceded that there is an inevitable "feeling" surrounding the former being Cole's Arsenal heir.

Asked if he could see the similarities between Lewis-Skelly and Cole, Watts replied: "Not really, in terms of the way they play anyway. I think they're very, very different left backs. Ashley Cole was actually more of an attacker when he was coming through the youth ranks at Arsenal, then moved back and made the left-back position his own.

"Ashley Cole is the greatest left back I've ever seen. He was unbelievable one on one. That left-hand side of Cole, [Robert] Pires, [Thierry] Henry was just a joy to watch. It didn't matter who was right wing, when you had Ashley Cole at left back, you felt so assured that he would get the better of that battle. No matter if it was against [Cristiano] Ronaldo or anyone else, he would win.

Lewis Skelly has a "long way to go" before Cole comparisons

"Lewis-Skelly's got a long way to go before we compare it to that. But it's impossible not to have that feeling when you're seeing these two young players burst into the first team picture.

"Fingers crossed he can go on to achieve what Ashley did. That would be very nice if we get that amount of FA Cups under his belt and a few league titles. Hopefully he doesn't go and have chats behind clubs back with managers in hotels and goes off to a rival club! Other than that, hopefully he does follow Ashley's career path."

Having won the trust of Mikel Arteta at a young age, as Cole did with Arsene Wenger, Lewis-Skelly was called up to Thomas Tuchel's first England squad before evening making his debut for the Under-21s.

Just 20 minutes into the visit of Albania in World Cup Qualifying Group K, Lewis-Skelly made a brilliant dart into the box to meet Jude Bellingham's exquisite through ball and poke home his first England goal through the legs of Thomas Strakosha.

Lewis-Skelly was visibly overcome by emotion as he celebrated near the corner flag before being mobbed by his teammates, having had to endure a wave of despicable comments on social media following his arrival into the England camp for the first time.

However, the 2006-born youngster has let little affect him so far this season, and Watts is delighted to see him 'write his own scripts', adding: "It just meant an awful lot. Social media is a dark place at times, and Lewis-Skelly's had to endure quite a bit of stick for absolutely no reason. He just seems to be unfairly targeted at the moment because of various things.

'Lewis-Skelly shut everyone up'

"England put that picture out of him arriving at St George's Park, which was a really happy moment of this young kid smiling, beaming with pride of walking, and yet people decided to target him. I was just desperately hoping that he was going to have a really strong debut and just shut everyone up. And he did that and more.

"It was just so nice to see him score that goal, the celebration, the images of his mum celebrating, becoming the youngest ever England goalscorer on their debut. I think only [Michael] Owen and [Wayne] Rooney have scored England goals at a younger age.

"He's just writing his own scripts. It's what he's doing this season. It's just remarkable. Nothing fazes him, and I didn't think England would faze him. I thought he'd handle the step-up really, really well.

"You could just sense the pride beaming out of him, he couldn't quite believe what had happened. Absolute special moment for him, his family, for Arsenal, Hale End. Delighted for him."

Before Lewis-Skelly had even made a name for himself in the left-back position, the teenager demonstrated his gallant attitude in September's 2-2 Premier League draw with Manchester City, where he made his senior Arsenal debut.

The 5ft 10in Lewis-Skelly did not hesitate to square up to 6ft 4in Erling Haaland, who responded to the teenager with a bemused look and a verbal retort, before the Arsenal man had the last laugh with a goal in February's 5-1 thrashing of the champions.

'Lewis-Skelly has that aura'

Lewis-Skelly's bold attitude was also on show when he mocked Haaland's celebration at the Emirates, and he rarely shies away from duels, drawing the fifth-most fouls of any Arsenal player in the 2024-25 Premier League season with 23.

Asked if he could remember a more fearless 18-year-old than Lewis-Skelly, Watts replied: "Not really, to be honest. Declan Rice described him in that exact word - fearless. It's exactly what he is. The day he made his debut at Man City, when he gets thrown on with a few minutes to go at the Etihad as a teenager, playing out of position. I know he's made left back his own, but at that time he's known more as a midfielder.

"The way he took to that, the way he stood up to Erling Haaland. He's just got this aura of, 'I belong here. I want to be here. I'm not scared of you. I want to do what I do.' It's a fantastic mentality to have. And I think at times that sort of mentality sets players out above their peers.

"When you get to the level that they're at now, they're all very, very talented players. But there's always little things that hold some players back and see some players shoot to the top. Mentality, character, drive, hunger, those sort of things. No matter how much talent you've got, if you don't have those things, you will plateau at some point.

"Lewis-Skelly's got all of those attributes in abundance. There's a long way to go. The key thing for him now is obviously keep his feet on the ground, keep doing what he's doing, keep having that support network behind him, which is a really, really strong support network that he has. And just keep building.

"He's at the right club to do that, he's got the right manager to do that with. He's got the right players around him. The world's his oyster. He can go on and achieve whatever he wants to achieve now, as long as he keeps his feet on the ground. And I'm absolutely sure he will do that."

Does Lewis-Skelly deserve to go to the World Cup?

Lewis-Skelly benefitted from injuries to Lewis Hall and Luke Shaw to make Tuchel's first England squad, where there are a distinct lack of out-and-out left-back options available to the German.

Dan Burn, who started in central defence against Albania, Levi Colwill, another centre-back by trade, and Tino Livramento - who has reportedly been left out of the squad to face Latvia on Monday - are the only real alternatives to Lewis-Skelly on the left-hand side right now.

While Hall and Shaw are both expected to be on Tuchel's World Cup radar if they are fit come selection time, Watts is confident that Lewis-Skelly is "at the front of the queue" for a plane ticket to North America.

"I don't see how he falls out of contention," he concluded. "They [Hall and Shaw] will come back into contention once their injuries clear up, but Lewis-Skelly's got that position at the moment. I don't think he's Arsenal's first choice left back now, he will share the role. We know how Arteta likes to rotate his fullbacks. But more often than not, he'll be starting for Arsenal.

"As long as he maintains his form, I don't see why he would not be going to the World Cup. I think he's absolutely at the front of the queue at the moment. Long way to go, but I think he'll stay there, providing he stays injury free and his form doesn't drop off."

Lewis-Skelly will be in Tuchel's squad when England take on Latvia on Monday evening, where the Three Lions will be hoping to avoid suffering an unwanted 66-year losing first at Wembley.

Written by

Ben Knapton