Jamie Carragher had high praise for Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and compared him to Jude Bellingham and Wayne Rooney.

His comments came after Arsenal thumped Real Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates to give themselves a commanding lead over the current European champions.

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18-year-old Lewis-Skelly has had one of the most memorable breakout seasons[/caption]

The 18-year-old, who became only the second English player aged 18 or under alongside Jude Bellingham to start a Champions League quarter-final, showed maturity beyond his years.

It has been a breakout season for Lewis-Skelly and has now become the preferred left-back choice over the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney.

He even had more touches (74), completed more passes (54), and created more chances (2) than Luka Modric in the match.

Speaking on CBS Golazo, Carragher said: “He’s spectacular at left back and he looks like one of the best players in the Arsenal team.

“He’s carrying the ball into central midfield, he’s receiving the ball on the half turn, he’s got [Kylian] Mbappe and Vini Junior either side of him, he’s taking responsibility.

“That’s when I go back to football arrogance. It’s not about position. It reminds me a little bit of [Jude] Bellingham at that age, and also of Wayne Rooney.

“When Rooney first came into the England squad… it was as if ‘I’m the best player, give me the ball, I’ll take the ball in difficult situations’.

“When we were young players you’d want to build into a game to build your confidence, he’s got that thing as if he’s playing like he;s 26 and been playing all his life.

“He’s very, very special”, added the former Liverpool star.

Arsenal will fly to Madrid for the second-leg of the quarter final next week at the Santiago Bernabeu, in which they will try to hold onto their lead in a bid to book a semi-final spot.

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The youngster coped with Real Madrid’s top stars with composure[/caption]

Midfielder Declan Rice made the headlines after scoring his first – and second – direct free-kicks of his career on Tuesday evening to put his side ahead.

The England midfielder had never scored a direct free-kick in 338 professional games, but ripped Real apart with a magical set-piece double at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

Rice netted his first on 58 minutes with a thumping curled effort that flew past Courtois.

He then did it again 12 minutes later to double Arsenal’s lead with a powerful strike into the top-right corner to leave Courtois helpless in goal yet again.

Prior to Tuesday’s match, Arsenal had failed to find the net from a direct set-piece in almost four years, with their last coming via Odegaard against Burnley in September 2021.

Despite Rice’s heroics, Lewis-Skelly had plenty to be proud of himself.

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Declan Rice was the star of the show after scoring a brace of free-kicks[/caption]

The 18-year-old made his senior debut for Arsenal just seven months ago in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City and has since gone on to score his first Premier League goal and England goal last month.

Against Real Madrid, defending the likes of Mbappe, Vini Jr and Rodrygo, Lewis-Skelly did so with bags of composure.

Lewis-Skelly provided the assist for Arsenal’s third goal of the evening, passing the ball to Mikel Merino who curled a shot into the bottom corner.

The victory for the Gunners also guarantees the Premier League a fifth spot for the Champions League next season, meaning there is lots to play for in the English top-flight.

It was an electric night in north London after the Gunners fired three past the world’s best goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in what could have been a handful more.

Arsenal face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night after hosting Brentford in the Premier League at the weekend.