'A little bit strange' - Jamie Carragher baffled by Arsenal willingness to offload Myles Lewis-Skelly

Premier League champions Arsenal are reportedly open to sanctioning an exit for Lewis-Skelly, having offered the 19-year-old midfielder to United and Chelsea. The unexpected stance follows the £75 million arrival of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United, which has intensified midfield competition in north London. Despite a frustrating start to the previous campaign, the England international broke into the side late on, becoming the second-youngest Englishman to start a Champions League final during the Gunners' penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Carragher has openly questioned the logic behind Arsenal's willingness to cash in on one of their brightest Hale End academy graduates.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Carragher expressed his astonishment: "That's the thing that was a little bit strange about it. It felt almost like Arsenal offered Manchester United Myles Lewis-Skelly. It wasn't Myles Lewis-Skelly saying, I want to leave, or his people putting something out. That's where the shock came from, not so much the players' side of it."

The television pundit warned that the Gunners would be making a grave mistake by parting ways with a talent already proven at the elite level. He added: "I still can't believe it. Obviously, last season wasn't great for him for the whole season, but when a young player has already put in performances like I've seen him put in at the Bernabeu - maybe over a year or 18 months ago, at left-back, he was running the game at the Bernabeu - and then his performance in the final in central midfield against Paris Saint-Germain. You can't play at that level unless you're pretty special at that age.

"All young players have ups and downs. Last season he didn't play as much as he probably would have liked. But his ceiling is so high for the performances he's already put in as a 20-year-old kid. I couldn't believe that Arsenal would even think about letting him go. It does feel like a strange one."

Lewis-Skelly, who remains under contract at the Emirates Stadium until 2030, underlined his desire to stay by celebrating a goal against Como with a heart gesture to the home fans.

Addressing the teenager's future post-match, manager Mikel Arteta refused to be drawn on the rumours: "I'm not going to talk about any speculation. If there is a speculation about our players, that's a good sign. That means that we attract attention and they're doing a good job."

Elsewhere, Arsenal continue to pursue defensive reinforcements in the market, submitting a second approach for Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa alongside opening talks for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jarell Quansah.

Lewis-Skelly faces a defining battle for regular minutes as he looks to force his way into Arteta's crowded midfield rotation. Arsenal raise the curtain on their campaign against Manchester City in the Community Shield this weekend ahead of their Premier League title defence. Behind the scenes, the Emirates hierarchy must decide whether to retain the versatile youngster or sanction a high-profile domestic transfer before the deadline passes.