Lee Dixon on Potential Swap: Myles Lewis-Skelly for Marcus Rashford

Lee Dixon would take the gamble.

Asked if he would swap Arsenal starlet Myles Lewis-Skelly for Marcus Rashford, the former Gunners defender didn’t hesitate for long. The calculation, in his mind, is clear: Arsenal get a proven, if inconsistent, match-winner; Lewis-Skelly gets room to grow somewhere else.

“Would I swap them (Myles Lewis Skelly and Marcus Rashford)? You know what, I probably would,” Dixon told BestBettingSites.

It wasn’t a dig at Arsenal’s academy jewel, he stressed, but a recognition of what both players need at this stage of their careers. Lewis-Skelly, he argued, would benefit from the freedom to expand his game away from the immediate pressure of a title-chasing squad.

The real attraction lies at the other end of the deal. Rashford, a player who has drifted painfully out of the spotlight at Manchester United, still carries the kind of ceiling that tempts elite clubs. Dixon believes Mikel Arteta is exactly the sort of manager who could unlock it.

“With Marcus Rashford, he's a player who needs an arm around his shoulder, and Arteta would be great for him. Give him that love, give him the freedom to play on that left side, and yeah, I'd like to see him in an Arsenal shirt,” Dixon said.

The caveat followed quickly: he still harbours doubts about Rashford’s consistency at the very top level. Even so, judged against Arsenal’s current attacking options, he sees the England international as a “good addition”.

This is not the Rashford of the daily highlight reels. The forward has been absent from United’s frontline for a prolonged spell, slipping from central figure to lingering question mark.

His last outing for the club came in a Europa League tie against Viktoria Plzen on 12 December 2024, the 426th appearance of a career built entirely at Old Trafford. Just days earlier, he had reminded everyone of his talent with a brace against Everton, a clinical double that took him to 138 goals for United and underlined the scoring pedigree that still shadows his name.

Then, silence. Eighteen months of it.

Even away from the pitch, though, Rashford remains a live topic around Old Trafford. His form, his future, his fit under the current regime – all of it lingers in the background of United’s rebuild. For Michael Carrick, the equation is brutally simple: if he can coax the old Rashford back, United effectively gain a new signing without entering the market.

For Arsenal, voices like Dixon’s frame the debate in different terms. Is Rashford a calculated risk worth taking for a side on the brink of major honours, especially under a manager renowned for detailed man-management? Or is Lewis-Skelly’s long-term promise too valuable to cash in on for a reclamation project?

Dixon has nailed his colours to the mast. The next move, as ever in these sagas, rests with the clubs – and with a forward still trying to decide what the next chapter of his career is supposed to look like.