Bukayo Saka’s second-half penalty to seal three points against West Ham United in the Premier League saw him become a centurion. The winger has 100 direct goal involvements across 200 fixtures in England’s top flight.
One of the poster boys of English football, Arsenal’s talisman has suffered an injury-disrupted start to the campaign, but three goals across all competitions and a sumptuous strike for England on Thursday evening underscore his world-class credentials.
That left-footed strike is something we’ve seen before.
He’s the cream of the crop, but it has been a plentiful harvest for Hale End over the past few years, with more than a few elite prospects underlaying Mikel Arteta’s ever-improving senior set-up.
Having finished runners-up in the Premier League for three successive seasons, Arsenal know that they need to reward the brilliant fanbase with silverware this season. It has been five years, after all. But for all the exciting big-money signings, those Hale Enders continue to shine brightly.
Arsenal's most exciting Hale Enders
Saka is hardly the only homegrown star plying their trade at the Emirates right now. An initialo £60m fee was spent to bring the 27-year-old Eberechi Eze back home this summer after so many years away, and the former Crystal Palace man looks to have been an astute signing for a side challenging for the biggest prizes.
It’s not always Arsenal let homegrown talents slip through their fingers, though, with Ethan Nwaneri still going from strength to strength as he looks to nail down a place in Arteta’s wider and grander plans.
And how could we forget Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has played the left-back berth with such consummate ease since breaking into the first team last season.
The 19-year-old has already chalked up 46 senior showings for the Gunners, and he has made his first three caps for the Three Lions.
Powerful and talented on the ball, Lewis-Skelly’s versatility and confidence have already seen him rise to the fore and become a Premier League star. Youth coach Jack Wilshere has long marvelled at how he is “unplayable” when fit and firing on all cylinders, but the translation to life on the senior stage has probably surpassed even the retired Gunner’s expectations.
However, ‘MLS’ is naturally a central midfielder, and there’s no guarantee he will not find his way back into the engine room permanently in the coming years.
With this in mind, Arsenal may rue Edu’s decision to cash in on another academy graduate who has earned praise for his quality.
Edu cashed in on "England's future left-back"
Edu left Arsenal 11 months ago, and Andrea Berta’s start to life in his stead as the Emirates technical director has suggested that the right move was made.
It’s futile keeping track of all the up-and-coming hopefuls, but one who might come back to bite Edu and Arsenal is Lino Sousa, who flourished through his academy years in north London but was sold to Aston Villa for a small fee in January 2024.
Now 20 years old, the England U19 international, who is also eligible for Portugal, is a natural talent when out wide but showed an aptitude in learning to invert, something Lewis-Skelly has done with aplomb over the past months.
Yet to feature for Unai Emery’s Villans, Sousa has been steadily cutting his teeth, spending the latter half of the 2023/24 campaign out on loan in the Championship with Plymouth Argyle before heading out again to Bristol Rovers last term, where his success in the duel caught the eye.
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Lino Sousa’s Loan Spells
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Stats (* per game)
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Plymouth (23/24)
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Rovers (24/25)
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Matches (starts)
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8 (3)
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25 (14)
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Goals
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0
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0
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Assists
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0
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2
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Touches*
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25.4
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37.6
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Pass completion
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79%
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76%
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Key passes*
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0.4
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0.4
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Dribbles*
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0.8
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0.4
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Ball recoveries*
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0.5
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2.4
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Tackles + interceptions*
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0.6
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1.8
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Clearances*
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1.0
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2.0
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Ground duels (won)*
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1.5 (63%)
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2.9 (69%)
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Data via Sofascore
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There’s certainly work still to be done, but the nuts and bolts of the talent’s skillset are there. Though he took a step down the ladder last season, the full-back demonstrated a raised level of confidence and quality regardless.
There’s no doubting Sousa’s potential. Still, there is an anticipation that he will pull it all together and make headway on the professional stage. Indeed, analyst Ben Mattinson has even gone as far as to suggest the teenager could be “England’s future left-back”.
Athletic, pacy and blessed with a mean crossing ability, Sousa has the talent to rise to the top, and it’s worth issuing a reminder that development in football is often a non-linear thing. Lewis-Skelly’s today might be Sousa’s tomorrow.
But Arteta lives in the now, even though the sharp-witted Spaniard keeps a side-eye on the future.
Whether the Londoners come to regret their decision to part ways with Sousa remains to be seen. He featured 53 times for the club’s respective development sides, after all, and notched eight goal contributions.
Aged 17, he was promoted to the Europa League matchday squad as Arsenal took on Swiss side FC Zurich in 2022, but the meteoric rise over the past three terms emphasises the ruthlessness needed and shown. Arsenal have eclipsed expectations, and with that comes some sacrifices.
Ultimately, Edu had his shortcomings, and Sousa was perhaps a victim of the realities of breaking onto the senior stage when informed he would be leaving his boyhood club, having failed to make a single appearance for the men’s team.
But given that Lewis-Skelly has been in such fine fettle and plays at the highest level, it’s not something Arteta and co are likely to lose much sleep over.
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