Jamie Carragher compares ‘impressive’ Arsenal player to Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has praised Arsenal’s young left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly, saying he has shown experience beyond his years in his debut season.

The 18-year-old made his senior debut in September and has since impressed with his performances in big games.

Carragher specifically highlighted Lewis-Skelly’s displays against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Real Madrid, saying, “At 18, you’re a baby. The thought [that] you could win Young Player of the Year at that age.

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That’s something that Michael Owen does or Wayne Rooney, absolute superstars.” Lewis-Skelly didn’t make the shortlist for the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season award, which includes players like Liam Delap, Dean Huijsen, and Cole Palmer.

Arsenal’s academy has produced talented players like Ethan Nwaneri, and manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly looking to promote 15-year-old Max Dowman to the senior team for the 2025/26 season. Carragher’s comments come as Lewis-Skelly continues to develop and make a name for himself in the Arsenal first team.

In 2004, 18-year-old Wayne Rooney scored 25 career goals, even beating 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who had 16 career goals at that time. Rooney went on to win the Premier League Young Player of the Year award for two consecutive seasons (2004/2005 season and the 2005/2006 Premier League season).

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Michael Owen also displayed rapid pace and composed finishing after progressing through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his Premier League debut in May 1997, becoming the club’s youngest goalscorer, at 17 years, 143 days. In his first full season in the Premier League, Owen finished as joint top scorer with 18 goals, sharing the Premier League Golden Boot.

He repeated this the following year and was Liverpool’s top goal-scorer from 1997 to 2004, gaining his name as a proven goal-scorer despite suffering from a recurring hamstring injury. In 2001, Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup (with Owen scoring two late goals in the final) and Football League Cup. He went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool, and 158 goals in 297 total appearances.

Lewis-Skelly has demonstrated similar composure this season for Arsenal, especially in big games, which has earned him global recognition, though he was not named in the Premier League Player of the Year award nominee list for this season. Only one Arsenal player made the cut in the list – Arsenal’s Declan Rice.

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