Ethan Nwaneri has become just the third English player to start a Champions League knockout match before turning 18.
The 17-year-old was once again selected to start on the right wing for Arsenal’s last-16 first-leg clash against PSV on Tuesday night, which was broadcast live on talkSPORT.
With Bukayo Saka sidelined due to injury, Nwaneri has stepped up as a key player for the North London side.
Enjoying a remarkable breakthrough season, the young talent netted his eighth goal of the campaign against PSV.
He delivered an impressive first-half performance, scoring Arsenal’s second goal as Mikel Arteta’s squad entered halftime with a 3-1 lead.
Nwaneri found the back of the net with a powerful finish into the top left corner from six yards out, assisted by Myles Lewis-Skelly.
His goal made history, marking the first time two English teenagers have combined for a goal in Champions League history.
His start against PSV was also a historic moment, as he became Arsenal’s youngest English player to start a Champions League knockout game at 17 years and 348 days.
Following in the footsteps of Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham, Nwaneri joins an exclusive group of English players who have started a Champions League knockout match before turning 18.
Foden was the first to achieve this feat in March 2018, starting for Manchester City in their last-16 second-leg loss to Basel.
Bellingham followed in February 2021, featuring for Borussia Dortmund in their last-16 first-leg win over Sevilla.
Nwaneri has already scored twice in the Champions League, surpassing Foden’s tally of zero in his debut season in the competition and doubling Bellingham’s total from the 2020/21 campaign.
Additionally, Nwaneri is now Arsenal’s second-youngest player to feature in a Champions League knockout match, with only former captain Cesc Fàbregas ahead of him. Fàbregas was 39 days younger when he made history against Bayern Munich in March 2005.
Among Arsenal’s youngest-ever Champions League players, Nwaneri ranks fifth. Jack Wilshere remains the youngest, debuting at 16 against Dynamo Kyiv in November 2008.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, now at Lyon, follows after making his debut off the bench against Galatasaray in 2014.
Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry, another Hale End graduate, also played in the competition at 17, featuring against Schalke in October 2012.
Fàbregas, who appeared against Panathinaikos in October 2004, is fourth on the list.