TA: Tuchel personally informed Skelly of his omission, believing that he did not have enough playing time at the club.

November 14th: In the latest England national team roster, 19-year-old Skelly, who plays for Arsenal, was not selected. TA wrote an article about the prospect of England teenager Skelly being selected for the World Cup roster. The article stated that Tuchel believed that Skelly lacked playing time in the club this season, and his ranking in the national team was even lower than O'Reilly. However, the player showed a positive attitude and will fight to enter England's World Cup roster.

It was reported that Tuchel personally called Skelly and had a "positive conversation." Tuchel explained that players need more game time in the league and Manchester City's O'Reilly "gets so many starts" and is therefore "slightly ahead". Tuchel confirmed that Skelly is still considered a member of the senior national team and will not be demoted to the U21s.

This lack of playing time is in stark contrast to last season. Skelly made 39 appearances in the 2024-25 season, the most by an Arsenal player aged 18 and under since Cesc Fabregas in the 2005-06 season. However, he has yet to start in the Premier League this season and has only played a total of 92 minutes as a substitute.

At Arsenal, he faces stiff competition. The 23-year-old Calafioli has started at left back in all 11 Premier League games, and new aid Inkapier was also selected ahead of him. The reason is that sporting directors Berta and Arteta have emphasized the use of players of "peak age" this season. Even in the midfield, he faces competition from Rice, Suvimendi and others.

The 19-year-old Skelly and Nwaneri, who is in a similar situation, both signed new contracts last summer, and Arsenal regard them as the future. For now, Skelly is focused on learning and improving under his new assistant coach.

Despite the reduced playing time, Skelly said he "enjoys the challenge" and "won't back down." Arteta also publicly backed him, calling him "really amazing" and suggesting "maybe the defeat happened for a good reason". Inspired by Kobe Bryant's "Mamba Mentality," Skelly's determination will be to fight for it all.