Ethan Nwaneri has now become only the third English player to start a Champions League knockout match before reaching 18. The 17‐year‐old was once again chosen to begin on the right wing for Arsenal in their last-16 first leg at PSV, as broadcast live on talkSPORT. With injured star Bukayo Saka sidelined, Nwaneri has cemented his role as a key figure for the North London club. In a breakthrough season, he has directly contributed to eight goals—seven goals and one assist—and now aims to further impress as he helps Mikel Arteta’s men edge closer to the quarter-finals.
At just 17 years and 348 days old, his start against PSV marks a historic milestone as Arsenal’s youngest English starter in a Champions League knockout tie. This achievement places him alongside Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham, both of whom made their knockout debuts before turning 18. Foden set the record in March 2018 for Manchester City against Basel, while Bellingham did so for Borussia Dortmund in February 2021 against Sevilla.
Already with one Champions League goal to his name, Nwaneri has surpassed Foden’s goal tally in his debut season and matched Bellingham’s numbers from the 2020/21 campaign—although Bellingham recorded an additional assist. Moreover, Nwaneri is Arsenal’s second youngest player ever to feature in a Champions League knockout match, only behind former captain Cesc Fabregas, who achieved the feat 39 days earlier in March 2005 against Bayern Munich. In the overall ranking of Arsenal’s youngest Champions League players, Nwaneri sits in fifth place, with Jack Wilshere holding the record as the youngest debutant at 16 years old in November 2008. Other notable young talents include Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who appeared as a substitute in 2014, and Bayern’s Serge Gnabry, who was 17 when he played in October 2012.
Looking ahead, the winner of the PSV versus Arsenal tie will go on to face the victor of the Real Madrid versus Atletico Madrid last-16 match.
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