Arsenal: Declan Rice compares 'ridiculous' Myles Lewis-Skelly to former Tottenham star after superb display | OneFootball

Lewis-Skelly the youngest Arsenal player to start against Spurs for 20 years

Lewis-Skelly put in a brilliant display during Arsenal’s win over Spurs, which moved the Gunners to within four points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

The left-back was the first 18-year-old to start a north London derby for Arsenal since Cesc Fabregas in 2005, but he was not overawed by the occasion.

And speaking afterwards, Rice said: “The young boy Myles was unbelievable.

Myles Lewis-Skelly has shone since breaking into the Arsenal first-team

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Wednesday’s win was a vital one for Arsenal as they bounced back after two defeats last week in the domestic cups to Newcastle and Manchester United.

This victory keeps them in the title race, albeit Liverpool have a game in hand, and Rice hopes the Gunners can go on a run now.

“You can tell that tonight meant more than anything,” Rice told TNT Sports. “From the first minute, the first-half was pure domination.

“We showed the intent, the pressure, the desire, you could tell it was a derby. I think we were probably unlucky that we didn’t score 10 tonight. That is the feeling.

“You don’t need a message. When you play Spurs you know what it means to the fans. As a player if you can’t get up for Spurs then you shouldn’t be playing football. You need to have that fire in your belly.

“In the second-half the game got stretched. They maybe could have scored a couple but we could have got another five or six - that is the disappointing thing.“The three points is the most important thing. Hopefully now we can go on a run because this is the most important part of the season.”