Myles Lewis-Skelly's World Cup place not in doubt despite Thomas Tuchel England snub, Arsenal legend claims

Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly should not be doubting his place in the England World Cup 2026 squad despite being snubbed from Thomas Tuchel's latest selection, a Gunners legend has exclusively told Sports Mole.

The 19-year-old was nowhere to be seen when Tuchel announced his 25-man squad for November's final World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Serbia, which are dead rubbers after the Three Lions secured their spot in North America last month.

Lewis-Skelly had made four successive senior England squads since earning his first call-up in March and has already earned five starts for his nation, including in their World Cup-clinching 5-0 win over Latvia in October.

However, the Hale End product has not made the first XI in the Premier League for Arsenal during the 2025-26 season, as Riccardo Calafiori has nailed down that position since consigning his injury woes to the past.

Nevertheless, Arsenal icon Ray Parlour has no doubts that Lewis-Skelly will be on the plane to the USA, saying: "I think Tuchel knows exactly what he can bring to the team. He knows what he can do. They’re training very hard at the moment and he will get game time, no doubt about that.

Ray Parlour "sure" Myles Lewis-Skelly will make England World Cup squad

“He's just got to get his head down, train well, train hard, keep improving like he has. And that's what you need in football teams. You need competition for places.

“Calafiori, fair play to him, he's got his opportunity and he's not looked back. So now it's up to Lewis-Skelly to get his opportunity back and make sure he plays really, really well to say, ‘you can't drop me now.’

“That's the sort of things you need in top teams. But I've got no fear whatsoever about Lewis-Skelly. Tuchel will be having a chat with him. Keep working hard, keep doing what you're doing and you'll get your opportunity.

“But he's a top player and I'm sure he'll be in that England squad come the summer.”

Lewis-Skelly has played just 86 minutes of top-flight football for Mikel Arteta's side this term, and the teenager is also facing added competition from Piero Hincapie, who started at left-back in Tuesday's 3-0 Champions League win over Slavia Prague.

What other options do England have at left-back?

With Luke Shaw's fitness woes consistently rearing their ugly heads and Ben Chilwell trying to resurrect his career in Strasbourg, the stage was seemingly set for Lewis-Skelly to become first-choice left-back for club and country.

However, it is not inaccurate to say that the Hale End product may only be Arsenal's third choice when Calafiori and Hincapie are fully fit, and Tuchel is not short of other options on that side of the field either.

Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly is making a strong case for World Cup involvement, starting six Premier League and three Champions League matches for the Sky Blues this season and coming up with a goal and two assists.

Tottenham Hotspur's Djed Spence has impressed on the left during Destiny Udogie's injury absences too, while Newcastle United pair Dan Burn and Lewis Hall - who has just returned from injury - both offer different skill sets in that role.

Without regular game time, Lewis-Skelly cannot compete with his left-back rivals, and it will be fascinating to see whether a loan exit comes into the equation in January if his situation does not improve.

Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Sports Betting.