Arsenal have hit the jackpot on “unplayable” gem

When it comes to legends, Arsenal have a handful for seemingly every position on the pitch.

The likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira helped to define an era of English football and turned the Gunners into one of the most recognisable clubs in the world.

Go back slightly further, and Ian Wright, David O’Leary and David Rocastle also left their mark in the iconic red and white and remain beloved by the fans today.

However, there’s one supremely gifted player who almost won the lot at Highbury who’s most certainly not loved by the fans, Ashley Cole, and now it looks as if the club might have the next version of the Englishman, although this time, without the sour taste of betrayal.

Ashley Cole’s Arsenal Career

Cole joined Arsenal as a teenager and, after making his way up through the club’s various youth sides, made his first team debut against Middlesbrough in November 1999when he was just 18 years old.

The Englishman spent the second half of the 99/00 season on loan at Crystal Palace, where he made 14 appearancesall of which were starts, scored one goal and did well enough to convince Arsène Wenger to keep him in the squad for the following campaign.

The Stepney-born star truly established himself in the first team following an injury to Silvinho early in the season, and from there, he became an integral part of the team.

In all, the 5 foot 9 ace, who was as capable going forward as he was defending, made 228 appearances for the North Londoners, in which he scored nine goals, provided 21 assistsaveraged 2.05 points per game and won two league titles, two FA Cups and two Community Shields.

However, despite being a part of the club’s greatest-ever team, the Invincibles, and being viewed as one of their own by the fans, Cole made the shocking decision to join Chelsea in 2006, allegedly over pay.

The move completely and utterly destroyed his reputation among the fans, and while he might be considered the “best to ever play in this country” by pundits like Darren Bent, there is no such admiration for him in North London.

It has been a long time since Arsenal have been able to boast a potentially world-class left-back, but one of their recent academy graduates has just been compared to the man they lost almost 20 years ago.

Arsenal’s new Ashley Cole

While Arsenal are now stacked with incredible full-backs like Jurrien Timber, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori, it should come as no surprise that the player we are talking about is Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Now, we are aware that it’s quite a comparison to make, given Cole’s immense career and how the Emirates faithful feel about him, but it hasn’t come from us; it’s come from Arsenal’s former under 16 coach, Dan Micciche.

Speaking to the Standard earlier this yearhe claimed that the Hale Ender is so incredibly talented that should he remain a left-back, he could “end up being the next Ashley Cole” and pick up “100 caps for England.”

That might sound like hyperbole at the moment, but there are some undeniable similarities between the pair.

The first is that both came up through the Gunners’ academy system before making their debuts for the first team as a teenager and securing a place in the side far earlier than would be expected.

The second similarity is that, like the former great, the Islington-born maestro is seemingly unfazed by everything, and while he can sometimes overstep the mark, he’s prepared to make risky tackles and passes that other youngsters and more seasoned players might be afraid to.

Finally, while he doesn’t necessarily bomb up and down the touchline, the “unplayable” teen, as dubbed by Jack Wilsherehas shown himself to be just as effective in attack as he is in defence, be that with a defence-splitting pass or a gut-busting run through midfield and well-placed shot himself – as we saw last night.

Ultimately, in Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal have a genuine superstar in the making, and while fans might not like the comparison for understandable reasons, he could be the club’s best left-back since Cole.