Arsenal youngster Marli Salmon was named on the bench for the first time in the Premier League in Saturday’s game against Aston Villa.
Salmon, 16, is one of a crop of exciting youngsters coming through the Arsenal academy and is in the same age group as Max Dowman, who has already made his first-team debut.
He was one of two 15-year-olds on the Arsenal pre-season tour of Asia and featured against AC Milan and Newcastle United in Singapore.
The now 16-year-old regularly trains with the first team and has captained Arsenal Under-19s in the Uefa Youth League.
Salmon was originally scouted as a forward but was moved to centre-back in his first trial at the club and has stayed there ever since.
And with William Saliba, Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera missing the Villa game through injury, the teenager was brought in for defensive cover.
He first trained with the first team when he joined the pre-season camp in Spain, just before the tour of Hong Kong and Singapore.
Some supporters have compared the youngster to Saliba – his calmness and ability to read the game are similar to the France centre-back.
Salmon has been highly rated by coaches for a long time at Arsenal, and making the bench for the first time at Villa Park is a big step in his development.
He might join teenage sensations Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool and Chelsea’s Estevao Willian in featuring in the top flight this season.
