Arsenal's victory at Brentford on Sunday was straightforward and routine, which allowed the Gunners to make a piece of history as the final minutes ticked away. 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri was handed his first-team debut off the bench, making him the youngest player to ever feature in the Premier League.
A catalogue of injuries saw Nwaneri make the bench, and with the game firmly in Arsenal's control in the latter stages, he became the first player under the age of 16 to play in the Premier League. Perhaps surprisingly, Mikel Arteta has been criticised for his decision to bring on the teenager, with Danny Murphy and Jason Cundy leading the argument that it was the wrong thing to do.
"He is obviously a super-talent," former Liverpool midfielder Murphy told talkSPORT. "[He's] doing well in training and impressing everybody, but surely they have got other 18, 19 and 20-year-olds who are further ahead in their development who could have gone on the bench. I think he is probably trying to keep a young superstar happy."
