One name eclipsed all when Arsenal’s starting line-up was read out ahead of their final pre-season friendly against Como.

The decibel levels rose noticeably as ‘Number 49, Myles Lewis-Skelly’ was read among their other starters.

The 19-year-old academy graduate has been at the centre of transfer speculation this week as Manchester United and Chelsea’s interest in the England intenational has resurfaced, but rather than turn on a teenager who wants to stay at his boyhood club, those inside the Emirates Stadium tried to do what he has done since he broke into their first team: connect.

Every club loves academy players, but Lewis-Skelly’s status among Arsenal fans was set before he had even kicked a ball for Mikel Arteta’s side.

He entered Arsenal folklore back in September 2024, receiving a booking for running behind Arsenal’s goal to communicate with David Raya 30 minutes before he came on for his first-team debut away to Manchester City.

After full time, a then-17-year-old Lewis-Skelly was at the centre of the action as Erling Haaland began a war of words with anyone he could see affiliated with Arsenal, including Arteta. From that moment, Arsenal fans have been bonded to the player they repurposed their famous ’49, 49, Undefeated’ chant for.

So, in the midst of all the commotion surrounding him this week, it was fitting that Lewis-Skelly was the one to put Arsenal 1-0 up against Como. The finish was calm, and came after good pressing from himself and Viktor Gyokeres, but the celebration that followed was what mattered.

Some have interpreted him clasping his hands together before forming a love heart aimed towards the fans as an apology, but in person, it felt like anything but.

First of all, there is nothing Lewis-Skelly would have to apologise for. Secondly, it was a moment in which he was able to reciprocate the love shown to him less than half an hour earlier and show where his heart was in that moment.

(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“He’s a very emotional player,” Arteta said when asked about the celebration post-match. “Remember when he did the gestures on the pitch (the Haaland celebration when he scored in Arsenal’s next meeting with Manchester City after his debut — a 5-1 home win).

“I’m not going to talk about any speculation. If there is speculation about our players, it’s a good sign. It means we attract attention and they’re doing a good job.”

The final part of that statement is true in Lewis-Skelly’s case.

After spending most of last season fighting an uphill battle to play at left-back, his late midfield inclusion midfield in May reinvigorated Arsenal with the energy they needed to leave City in their wake during the title race, and take Paris Saint-Germain all the way in the Champions League final.

At the time, Arteta said: “It’s been a process of understanding him (Lewis-Skelly) better. Him understanding a lot of the standards that are required when you play or don’t play that much at this level. To understand the reason why you play or not as well.”

Since then, the teenager has started all of Arsenal’s pre-season games in midfield with regular starters away due to their international commitments during the summer. Arteta feels Lewis-Skelly has been “really consistent” throughout this pre-season and that momentum has carried from game to game.

Away in Girona, it was his pass that sparked the attack for Kai Havertz’s opener (assisted by Max Dowman). At home against Como, he started well with a trademark dribble through midfield to win a foul before some nice interplay with Eberechi Eze further upfield.

By the time he had celebrated his goal, sections of the stands had started singing his chant while others brought out renditions of ‘He’s one of our own’. And aside from how good Lewis-Skelly is at football, that aspect of this situation is arguably the most important.

While there will always be clamour and excitement over new signings, the feeling across a club when a child can progress through the ranks and become a man that identifies with the thousands that watch him in the stadium is unquantifiable. Lewis-Skelly’s character, summed up when he quipped “They called us bottlers, and now we’re holding the bottles” after it was confirmed Arsenal were Premier League champions, only helps to illustrate the authenticity of his connection with those who watch him.

Add that his pinned post on Instagram is still the picture of him with the Premier League trophy captioned with the jibe ‘Pure Profit’ and it is clear to see where his head has been for months.

The need for characters like this to maintain and strengthen bonds between what happens on the pitch, in the stands, online and everywhere in between cannot be overstated.

Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri were the two players who brought life to Arsenal’s 2024-25 season in their breakthrough campaigns. Before that, Arsenal had not experienced a moment like that since the joint rise of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe between 2019 and 2021.

Since then, Arteta has admitted that the inclusion of Smith Rowe in the 2020-21 season played a vital role in allowing the fans and the team to click. Lewis-Skelly is a different type of personality, but has done similar since his first Premier League booking.

Over time, it seems like transfer windows have become more about cynical decisions made by the head. Clubs have parted ways with players they invested years into as the bottom lines have become all the more important.

Cole Palmer has previously spoken about not wanting to leave Manchester City in the summer window he joined Chelsea, while Elliot Anderson’s £35million 2024 move from Newcastle United to Nottingham Forest came to help the north-east side meet Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) despite his and Eddie Howe’s desire for him to stay at the club he joined aged eight.

At some point, the heart has to intervene for the soul of the clubs, which is often nurtured by those who come all the way through the ranks.

After all, as Lewis-Skelly gestured to those at the Emirates, home is where the heart is.

Eddie Jones has revealed an interesting method he uses to coach his Japan side – watching videos of geese fly in formation.

Japan are facing Australia in a two-Test, home and away series this month, and Jones’ side were beaten 35-32 by the Wallabies in Osaka last weekend.

The former England coach has made five changes for the second Test in Townsville, Australia on Saturday, including picking university student Yoshitaka Yazaki on the wing and giving Shunsuke Uenobo his first start at centre.

Jones said Japan’s support play “wasn’t as sharp as we would have liked” in the opening game, so he has turned to nature to get his point across.

“The reason we watch videos of geese is that the head of the flock is like the ball-carrier,” the Australian said.

“The ball carrier is king, and then everyone else has got to follow after that.

“The geese fly hundreds, thousands of miles in formation and they follow the one goose in front, and it’s the responsibility of the support players to respond to what the ball-carrier does.”

Australia overcame an early red card for Miles Amatosero to defeat home side Japan and seal their first win under new head coach Les Kiss, who succeeded Joe Schmidt earlier this year.

With his geese videos in hand, Jones said Japan have “set ourselves the task of really taking it to Australia this week”.

He added: “We’re very disappointed to lose the last game, so the most important thing now is how we take on this game.”

For someone who routinely sails through the air, her feet are firmly on the ground.

She says she is not driven by medals. Improving as a gymnast is her biggest motivation.

But asked if she’s targeting gold at the LA 2028 Olympics, she smiles.

“Maybe,” she adds. “If I’m good.”

For individual success at an Olympics, she will need to showcase two vaults with different entries on to the vault.

So that is her current focus in training.

“Maybe if I get a second vault, I’d have quite a good chance,” she added.

“But it’s in gear two. It needs to get to gear five.”

At the Europeans, Evans and her team are focusing on a strong performance in Sunday’s women’s team final as that will set them up for October’s World Championships – and with it a chance of Olympic qualification.

As ever, there’s likely to be a lot of attention on Evans – she’s been showing she is someone worth keeping an eye on.