Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal ‘learnt’ from Myles Lewis-Skelly’s mock celebration | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has insisted his Arsenal players have learnt from Myles Lewis-Skelly’s mock celebration of Erling Haaland ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Manchester City.

Arsenal host City at the Emirates in a fixture which has become increasingly hostile in recent seasons.

Haaland urged Arteta to “stay humble” following a 2-2 draw at the Etihad a year ago before Lewis-Skelly imitated the striker’s zen celebration when he scored in Arsenal’s 5-1 thrashing of Guardiola’s side at the Emirates in February.

Teenager Lewis-Skelly, who has not started a game for Arsenal this season, courted criticism for the celebration.

And when asked if he had spoken to his players about their goal celebrations ahead of Sunday’s fixture, Arteta said: “Well that was done, and that’s part of it.

“There have been a lot of celebrations or non-celebrations in the past from a lot of teams. The experience is to learn and grow as well and we certainly learnt from that.”

Arsenal were without Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Ben White for their midweek Champions League win against Athletic Bilbao in Spain.

And Arteta hinted he could face Guardiola’s side without the trio after revealing they are yet to train this week.

He said: “If there is a chance (they will play) it will be after tomorrow’s session because they haven’t done anything yet. We will have more information tomorrow.

“Everything has been modified so far for them. There are still a few things to clear and we’ll have more information on whether they are part of the squad (for City) or if they have a chance to be part of the squad.”

Viktor Gyokeres had stitches for a head injury sustained following a clash of heads with team-mate Gabriel but will be available.

Meanwhile, Arteta downplayed the sudden departure of one of his key allies following a major reshuffle of the club’s boardroom.

Arsenal announced on Friday that Tim Lewis – who has advised Arsenal’s owners Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) since 2007 and was the vice-chair for the past two-and-a-half years – has left.

Lewis, 62, who joined the board in 2020, played a key role alongside manager Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta’s £250million summer spending spree and was regarded as a significant figure within the north London club. Co-chair Josh Kroenke is now set to tighten his grip on the club’s affairs.

But Arteta insisted: “I have incredible gratitude towards Tim and what he has done for the football club, what he has done for the team, and for me personally. Everybody is in a different phases of their life, requires different things, and that’s it, we move on.

“The club has a wonderful future. I am so positive about it and every time I speak to (co-chair) Stan (Kroenke) and Josh and how willing they are, the projection that they have, the vision they have for the football club, the people that we have around it, there’s no question that there are big things ahead.”