Myles Lewis-Skelly: Charles Watts delivers Arsenal contract update ahead of announcement

Myles Lewis-Skelly's new Arsenal contract is signed and sealed, but there is no knowing when the Gunners might officially announce his renewal, expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.

Watts dropped the exclusive news last week that the 18-year-old has committed his future to Mikel Arteta's side, becoming their second renewal of the summer after key centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.

However, Arsenal are yet to officially confirm that Lewis-Skelly has put pen to paper on his new agreement, which replaces the previous contract that was due to expire at the end of next season.

Nevertheless, Watts has insisted that it is only a matter of time before the club statement comes, saying: “It's impossible to predict when it comes to Arsenal.

"It's done, it's signed, there was a photo shoot at the stadium, so I think it's all ready to go. But you can never put a date on it, it's impossible to actually predict. But the good thing is, it is done.

“Arsenal have got one of the brightest young prospects in not just English football but world football signed to a new long-term contract, and that's brilliant. It's fantastic news. I reported the story last week that it was all agreed and now it's been signed.”

Lewis-Skelly's bumper new contract is just reward for the teenager's rapid rise to fame over the past 12 months, having started the 2024-25 season as a fringe player who potentially only expected fleeting minutes here and there.

Watts: 'Lewis-Skelly renewal was a matter of time'

However, the 18-year-old unexpectedly became Arteta's number one left-back, scoring one goal and providing two assists in 39 appearances and earning plenty of plaudits for his fearless style of play.

Lewis-Skelly shone in the inverted left-back role that Arteta first implemented with Oleksandr Zinchenko in the 2022-23 season, while also showcasing his unwavering confidence on the ball and ability to win duels, often by drawing a foul.

Also an established England international, Lewis-Skelly had apparently caught the eye of Real Madrid earlier this year, but Watts was never concerned about the possibility of him jumping ship for the Bernabeu.

“You start hearing noises about Madrid and your mind starts to wander a little bit, but it just wouldn't have made any sense from a footballing perspective, from a development perspective," he added. "I'm sure you make that move at some point if you really want it but not at 18.

“I think it almost would have been unprecedented for an 18-year-old who'd just broken into the team to go to a club of that stature and leave your boyhood club. Mid-20s, fine, but it wouldn't have made any sense to me. So I was never worried about it.

“He's got a manager that absolutely loves him, trusts him, helped transform him from an academy prospect to first choice for Arsenal, for England. He knows he's trusted, he's going to get game time and he's at the place where he's spent the last 10 years dreaming of getting to. I always thought it was a matter of time and fortunately that's been proven correct.”

While Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta can celebrate Lewis-Skelly's renewal, the Gunners chiefs must soon turn their attention to a handful of other players about to enter the last year or two years of their terms.

Do Arsenal have a new contract priority after Lewis-Skelly renewal?

There is now decreasing optimism about Thomas Partey's chances of signing a new deal, and the Ghana midfielder is now looking increasingly likely to leave as a free agent, but the Gunners will aim to extend Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri's terms beyond the summer of 2026.

Furthermore, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli are out of contract at the end of the 2026-27 campaign, although the latter's terms also include a 12-month extension option to keep him on the books until 2028.

Asked who Arsenal's next contract priority ought to be after Lewis-Skelly, Watts added: “I'm not sure he [Berta] will really do it so much in a priority list. I think it would just be how the talks go and how quickly they ramp up in terms of who's the first one to sign. They’re all so important.

"Saka and Saliba have got an extra year compared to Nwaneri, so time-frame wise, you'd think Nwaneri needs to be the priority, but the Saliba and Saka deals are going to be a hell of a lot more complicated for multiple reasons.

“It’s just going to be a case of trying to balance and spin as many plates as you possibly can, keep them spinning and try and get them over the line whenever it's entirely possible. There’s so much work for him to do. He's not been able to get his feet under the table slowly. He’s had to dive headfirst into a huge amount of work, both transfer wise and contracts wise.

“I'm in that stage where I feel the wind is travelling in a good direction when it comes to contracts and getting these tied down. But I think we're a long way to go before we can celebrate it yet. But I would hope that they all sign.”

Arsenal are yet to add a new player to their squad to go alongside their two contract renewals, but deals for Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi and Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga are expected to be confirmed imminently.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Myles Lewis-Skelly's new Arsenal contract

Written by
Ben Knapton