By being named in the team for tonight’s Carabao Cup fourth round tie with Brighton, Max Dowman has broken an Arsenal record by becoming our youngest ever starter.
When he came on against Leeds United last month to make his professional bow, Max became the second-youngest player in Premier League history, as well as in our club’s 138-year history, but by being named on the teamsheet against the Seagulls, he has become the youngest player to do so for our men’s first-team.
Aged just 15 years and 302 days old, Max has broken the record set last season when Jack Porter was named between the posts against Bolton Wanderers at the same stage of the Carabao Cup. Jack was 16 years and 72 days old that night, meaning his England under-19 teammate Max has beaten him by 135 days.
Arsenal’s youngest ever starters
First start
player
opponent
competition
age
Oct 2025
Max Dowman
Brighton
League Cup
15 years 302 days
Sep 2024
Jack Porter
Bolton
League Cup
16 years 72 days
Oct 2003
Cesc Fabregas
Rotherham
League Cup
16 years 177 days
Sep 2008
Jack Wilshere
Sheff United
League Cup
16 years 266 days
Aug 1953
Gerry Ward
Huddersfield
First Division
16 years 321 days
Aug 1975
David O’Leary
Burnley
First Division
17 years 106 days
Oct 2012
Serge Gnabry
Reading
League Cup
17 years 108 days
Oct 2004
Arturo Lupoli
Man City
League Cup
17 years 125 days
Oct 1973
Richie Powling
QPR
First Division
17 years 159 days
Sep 2024
Ethan Nwaneri
Bolton
League Cup
17 years 188 days
Our youngest ever player remains Ethan Nwaneri, who against Brentford in 2022 became the first 15-year-old to play in the Premier League, aged 15 years and 181 days old. He is the youngest player ever to appear in a top-flight match in English football, beating the previous record held by Sunderland’s Derek Foster in August 1964.
Arsenal’s youngest ever players
Date of debut
Player
Opponent
Competition
Age
Sep 2022
Ethan Nwaneri
Brentford
Premier League
15y 181d
Aug 2025
Max Dowman
Leeds
Premier League
15y 235d
Sep 2024
Jack Porter
Bolton
League Cup
16y 72d
Oct 2003
Cesc Fabregas
Rotherham
League Cup
16y 177d
Sep 2008
Jack Wilshere
Blackburn
Premier League
16y 256d
Max will now be hoping to break another long-standing club record if he continues to receive first-team opportunities in 2025/26.
Back in December 2003 – six years before Max was born – a fresh-faced Cesc Fabregas made a name for himself when he netted in a League Cup tie against Wolves, becoming our youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years and 212 days.
With that in mind, should Max score his first Gunners goal at any point this season, then he would leapfrog the Spaniard in the rankings and potentially take that particular slice of club history, unless another academy product gets there first!
Arsenal’s youngest ever scorers
Date
Player
Opponent
Competition
Age
Dec 2003
Cesc Fabregas
Wolves
League Cup
16y 212d
Sep 2008
Jack Wilshere
Sheff Utd
League Cup
16y 266d
Mar 1982
Stewart Robson
Ipswich
First Division
17y 127d
Nov 2004
Arturo Lupoli
Everton
League Cup
17y 138d
Sep 2024
Ethan Nwaneri
Bolton
League Cup
17y 188d
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
