Jamie Carragher Critiques Arsenal's Decision on Myles Lewis-Skelly

Jamie Carragher has torn into Arsenal’s decision to entertain selling one of their most highly rated Hale End prospects, questioning why the club would effectively gift a rising star to a direct rival.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, the former Liverpool defender could barely hide his disbelief at the way the situation has unfolded.

“That’s the thing that was a little bit strange about it,” Carragher said. “It felt almost like Arsenal offered Manchester United Myles Lewis-Skelly. It wasn’t Myles Lewis-Skelly saying, I want to leave, or his people putting something out. That’s where the shock came from, not so much the players’ side of it.”

For Carragher, the issue isn’t just the potential sale. It’s the profile of the player Arsenal appear ready to move on. A homegrown midfielder, already blooded on the biggest stages, being allowed to slip into the hands of a historic rival.

He didn’t hold back on what he sees as a major misjudgment.

“I still can’t believe it,” he admitted. “Obviously, last season wasn’t great for him for the whole season, but when a young player has already put in performances like I’ve seen him put in at the Bernabeu – maybe over a year or 18 months ago, at left-back, he was running the game at the Bernabeu – and then his performance in the final in central midfield against Paris Saint-Germain. You can’t play at that level unless you’re pretty special at that age.”

Those nights stick in Carragher’s mind. A teenager taking control at the Bernabeu from left-back. A final against Paris Saint-Germain bossed from central midfield. For a 20-year-old, those are not routine cameos; they are statements.

The dip last season, he argued, is just part of the natural curve.

“All young players have ups and downs,” Carragher said. “Last season he didn’t play as much as he probably would have liked. But his ceiling is so high for the performances he’s already put in as a 20-year-old kid. I couldn’t believe that Arsenal would even think about letting him go. It does feel like a strange one.”

Arsenal have poured years into Hale End, building an identity around youth, development and elite potential. Letting a talent of this calibre cross the line to Manchester United would not just be a transfer; it would be a statement of a very different kind.