Teenager Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history as he came off the bench in Arsenal's comfortable victory over Brentford.
Aged 15 years and 181 days, the attacking midfielder replaced goalscorer Fabio Vieira in added time to break the record previously held by Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott from his time with Fulham.
Nwaneri has featured at Under-18 and Under-21 level for Arsenal this season and was a surprise inclusion in the squad for the Premier League encounter after a late injury to captain Martin Odegaard.
He was not allowed to change with the rest of the team ahead of kick-off, getting into his gear separately from the rest of the squad due to safeguarding reasons. He also may have needed consent or a waiver from his family to play due to being under the age of 16.
Nwaneri was born on March 21, 2007. He has already played for England Under-16s at the age of 14.
Nwaneri came on as a stoppage time substitute for Vieira in Arsenal's 3-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium, where Vieira had grabbed Arsenal's third goal following first half strikes from William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus.
Following the substitution Arsenal fans taunted their Brentford counterparts with chants of "How s*** must you be? He's only 15" and "he's got school in the morning."
Commenting on social media, Gary Lineker quipped: "Thankfully it’s an early kick off so he can get his homework done after the game."
The Match of the Day host later wrote: "When you’re 46 years older than a Premier League player, you know you’re edging towards the final whistle. Hoping for extra time and penalties."
Nwaneri overtakes Elliott's record as the youngest ever Premier League player, with the now Liverpool midfielder playing for Fulham at the age of 16 years and 30 days in 2019.
Nwaneri's appearance comes in the same week that Northern Irish side Glenavon gave a debut to Christopher Atherton, who at 13 years and 329 days became the youngest ever senior footballer in the UK.
