Let's rewind a little bit here. It is January 2026 and two of Arsenal's best young talents are struggling for game time.

In 2024/25, a certain Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were two of the biggest stories in English football. However, as Mikel Arteta's side finally won the Premier League, they were nearly forgotten about.

Things can change quickly in football and it looked as though both players could be sold on just a matter of months ago. This is the world of profit and sustaintability that we live in. Both would be seen as pure profit if they were to leave as they came through the academy.

Yet, while Nwaneri continued to struggle for minutes on loan at Marseille, Lewis-Skelly finally earned his place again and made a remarkable impact.

How Lewis-Skelly has become a prominent figure at Arsenal again

At the beginning of 2024/25, Lewis-Skelly was not in the first-team picture. Indeed, before December of that campaign, he had played just 15 minutes of Premier League football.

However, around the festive period, the teenager quickly rose to prominence and has not looked back since. From 14th December to the end of that season, he only missed two league games and one of those was due to suspension.

A midfielder in the academy, he made his breakthrough as a left-back and was soon also starring for England. Lewis-Skelly scored on his Three Lions debut and looked a shoo-in for the World Cup.

Yet, 2025/26 was rather unkind to the youngster. The Hale Ender had to remain immensely patient to get any minutes, only starting twice in the league throughout the first half of the campaign. He then didn't see a single minute of top-flight for two months between the start of January and beginning of March.

However, behind the scenes, he had been training as a midfielder and before too long, Lewis-Skelly finally burst back into the team, replacing Martin Zubimendi in the middle of the park and performing extraordinarily well.

The Spaniard had looked knackered for weeks and simply needed some time out of the team. That was to the academy graduate's benefit.

The teen started four of the last six Premier League matches and was even trusted to start in the Champions League final. From looking on the verge of being cast out of the Emirates, he is now a prominent figure again having leapfrogged Arsenal's new World Cup winner in the pecking order.

How much longer he remains Declan Rice's partner, though, remains to be seen.

Arsenal could sign £80m Lewis-Skelly replacement

While not a colossal issue for Arsenal, the midfield has become something of a problem for Arteta.

Zubimendi's fitness levels were rocky come the end of the season while the same can be said for Rice who was managing neural pain during the World Cup.

It would be a shock to see the England midfielder in the starting XI for the opening game with Coventry City. He needs a big long rest before returning to the picture at the Emirates Stadium.

Combine that with Zubimendi's form and fitness and it is hardly a surprise that the Gunners are looking to sign a new midfielder. Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi continues to be linked, as does Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes.

The situation surrounding the Brazilian has been complicated by Sandro Tonali's £100m exit and the state of the midfield market this summer. Most notably, Elliot Anderson has moved to Manchester City in a £116m transfer.

Aged 28 and with two years left on his deal, Arsenal are unwilling to pay a similar price but they are ready to pay a hefty fee. talkSPORT's chief football reporter Alex Crook revealed this week that "Guimaraes, I think, will happen. The money will talk with that one if they get anything near or above £80m. I would expect that one to go through."

So, why should Lewis-Skelly be concerned about this move? After all, he has already leapfrogged one big money signing in the form of Zubimendi.

Well, the fact of the matter is that the Newcastle captain has the potential to be a total game-changer in the middle of the park for the Gunners.

Sure, Lewis-Skelly is exciting, he's raw and he's got the ball carrying ability to match the best midfielders in the game. However, Guimaraes is more polished at the moment, he's an immense leader and he's more well-rounded than the Arsenal teenager.

Last term, the 28-year-old had the best season of his career in front of goal, scoring nine goals. He also supplied seven assists for his troubles.

A mean dead ball taker, his arrival would be music to the ears of Nicolas Jover but as well as possessing incredible technique and the ability to make things happen in the final third, Guimaraes is a fierce midfield battler too.

He won 6.20 duels per 90 minutes last term, enough to rank him among the finest 21% of midfielders in the Premier League. Lewis-Skelly, by comparison, only won 4.90 duels per 90. He has also only scored once in 76 professional appearances at club level.

The Toon hero is on a different level and would simply walk into this Arsenal team alongside Rice.