Arsenal have developed quite a reputation for blooding youngsters in the Premier League, and plenty of them have gone on to do great things.
Max Dowman’s cameo against Leeds in August 2025 made him the second youngest player in Premier League history, but doesn’t quite make him the youngest Arsenal player to have done so.
All of this top 10 represented the Gunners in the Premier League before even turning 18 and we’ve ranked them from oldest to youngest. You’ll find one or two very familiar faces on the list.
10. Aaron Ramsey
One of the members of the ‘British core’ who was brought in rather than being developed from a young age in N7, Ramsey made his professional debut for Cardiff at 16 and played his first Arsenal minutes about 18 months later.
After making his debut in a Champions League play-off against FC Twente, a first league appearance followed against Blackburn and a first league start arrived at Portsmouth at the end of the 2008-09 season.
The Welshman played more than 350 games in his 11 years at Arsenal, overcoming a serious injury early in his Gunners career, before moving to Juventus in 2019.
9. Theo Walcott
Had Walcott made his debut in January 2006, the month he signed, he’d be much higher on this list.
But Arsene Wenger decided to ease him in – not that Sven-Goran Eriksson had any plans to do the same at international level.
Walcott had to wait until August 2006 for his first Gunners appearance, replacing Freddie Ljungberg seven months after arriving in North London, but he ended up with just under 400 games for the club in all competitions.
8. Bukayo Saka
After some Europa League minutes under Unai Emery, Saka made his Premier League bow as a 17-year-old on New Year’s Day in 2019.
It’s safe to say he’s done pretty well since.
7. Gavin McGowan
The only 90s debutant on this list is also the first you’re unlikely to know that much about unless you’re an Arsenal (or Luton Town) fan.
McGowan played twice as a 17-year-old in the inaugural Premier League season, starting in a defeat at Sheffield Wednesday and playing 45 minutes of a North London Derby reverse on the final day.
As an aside, the prospect of Arsenal taking on Spurs on the final day of the season these days feels appetising and terrifying in equal measure.
Sadly for the Londoner, he didn’t kick on, playing just seven times in the Premier League before joining Luton – first on loan and then permanently.
He retired in 2006 after some time in non-league, and began a new life as a PE teacher in Croydon.
6. Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Maitland-Niles debut came as a replacement for another double-barrelled player, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, late in a 4-1 win over Newcastle United in December 2014.
Coming just days after Maitland-Niles got his first Champions League minutes in a win at Galatasaray, the sky was the limit for the youngster.
But he became frustrated by his lack of chances in midfield and went out on loan to Sam Allardyce’s relegation-destined West Brom in 2021 and subsequently had stints at Roma and Southampton before his contract with Arsenal expired.
Maitland-Niles is currently playing for Lyon, but those England caps now feel like a very long time ago.
5. Cesc Fabregas
After making his cup debut in 2003 at the age of 16, he was thrust into the starting line-up the following year as the Invincibles began their title defence with a 4-1 win at Everton.
That was the first of 212 league games for the midfielder, who eventually returned to boyhood club Barcelona in 2011. He was sensational at his best for Arsenal.
Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas celebrates
READ: Remembering the season ‘little kid’ Cesc Fabregas stole Arsenal hearts
4. Serge Gnabry
Gnabry’s league debut came in 2012, while his first start for the club came the same season in that ridiculous 7-5 League Cup win at Reading.
The German looked destined for a long Arsenal career when he scored his first goal for the club early in the following campaign.
But a disastrous loan spell at West Brom stopped him in his tracks and he moved to the Bundesliga permanently in 2016.
He then blossomed into one of the finest wingers in European football at Bayern Munich. Arsenal should’ve persevered with him.
3. Jack Wilshere
Wilshere was just 16 years and 256 days old when he replaced Robin van Persie against Blackburn in September 2008.
An Arsenal player from the age of nine, his eventual tally of 197 games for the club is comfortably more than most will manage, yet feels low for him given his talent.
2. Max Dowman
After impressing in pre-season, Dowman was given his full Arsenal debut as a 64th minute substitute in the 5-0 win over Leeds in 2025.
The youngster was a thorn in the opposition’s side, terrifying the Leeds defence with his dribbling and winning an injury-time penalty.
“Because there is a kid here that has zero hesitation and is so convinced that at 15 he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life,” Mikel Arteta said in his post-match interview.
“For us he brings joy, he brings emotion and something else that makes our jobs so great.”
1. Ethan Nwaneri
Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history when he came off the bench for Arsenal aged 15 years and 181 days in September 2022.
The English attacking midfielder, who was born in March 2007, was the first player under the age of 16 to play in the Premier League.
Almost three years later, Nwaneri is now established in the Arsenal first-team squad and Arteta is a big fan.
READ NEXT: Where are they now? The 10 youngest Arsenal players handed Champions League debuts by Arsene Wenger
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Arsenal’s 25 youngest goalscorers since 2000?