This country’s remarkable production line of right-backs has dished up another gem in Manchester City’s Rico Lewis, who is aiming to further enhance his rapidly growing reputation against Arsenal tonight.
Lewis is just 18 but has started five of City’s last eight matches and could keep his place in the FA Cup’s biggest fourth-round tie, at the Etihad Stadium.
There is already talk of the teenager being included in England’s squad for the European Championship qualifiers in March, and his emergence has left Kyle Walker’s long-term future for club and country feel in more doubt than at any point in his career.
Walker will be 33 in the summer and is one of the few members of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad who appears unlikely to still be in contention for a place in Germany in 18 months’ time.
Lewis’s unexpected emergence as a first-team player has diminished Walker’s role at City to an extent, although the teenager has been careful to say he is still learning from the England star, who was one of his idols when he was coming through the club’s academy.
Guardiola has been effusive about Lewis, who was promoted after catching the eye on City’s summer tour, describing him as “our little Philipp Lahm” because of his ability to join the midfield, as the Germany full-back did under the Catalan at Bayern Munich.
His energy, quality on the ball and positional nous have also impressed Guardiola but, perhaps most importantly, he has added a youthful hunger to City’s squad.
Walker is among a core of City players who have won every prize going in English football already and Guardiola’s extraordinary press conference after last week’s comeback victory over Tottenham, in which Lewis impressed, pointed to his concern that his squad — and the club’s fans — are losing their edge.
Not Lewis, though, who is just 13 games into his senior career and desperate to win silverware, including the FA Cup.
“Some players have five Premier Leagues. Why in your mind should you fight again?” the City boss has said. “But that’s why we need Rico Lewis because for him it’s wow, it’s new. ‘I want to be there, I want to play, I want to stay a long time here, I want to win one Premier League’.
“And this energy is contagious. He gives it to me and he gives it to the players. It puts pressure for the other ones. And it is so necessary.”
Lewis has already faced Chelsea three times, Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and Spurs in the Premier League but Arsenal promise to be the biggest test of the youngster’s fledgling career, with Mikel Arteta unlikely to make wholesale changes tonight.
If he starts ahead of Walker again, Lewis is set to face Gabriel Martinelli, whose ability to run in behind will test Guardiola’s defensive line and Lewis’s recovery pace.
Before the summer tour, the teenager was set to be spending this season with City’s Under-21s and he is still grateful for any minutes at this level.
“I feel like I belong but it doesn’t feel like I’m part of the team,” Lewis said after the win over Spurs last week. “Every game for me is just a massive surprise. I didn’t expect to play any games. It’s just overwhelming really.”
