Former Linfield youngster Ceadach O’Neill has marked a significant Arsenal milestone after being included in their senior squad for the first time.
The 17-year-old joined the Premier League giants from the Blues in 2024 and has impressed for the Gunners’ youth teams, scoring nine times in as many league appearances for their U18s this season.
Northern Ireland youth international O’Neill has already made the step up to U21 level and shone for Arsenal’s U19s in the UEFA Youth League, scoring against Bayern Munich in November.
O’Neill, who has been training with Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders, benefitted from a late squad change ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup clash against Wigan Athletic at the Emirates.
Arsenal youngster Ceadach O'Neill. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)placeholder image
Arsenal youngster Ceadach O'Neill. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
The Kilrea youngster was called up to the bench after Bukayo Saka was promoted to the starting line-up in place of the injured Riccardo Calafiori.
O’Neill made two Premiership appearances for Linfield during the 2023/24 season, featuring against Ballymena United and Cliftonville.
He was called up to Tommy Wright’s Northern Ireland U21 squad for a trio of European Championship qualifiers earlier in their campaign and is the latest Blues academy product to shine across the water.
O’Neill signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in April and insists his only target is to continue improving.
“I'm delighted to be signing my first professional contract,” O’Neill told the club’s website at the time. “I knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge moving over, but I think I settled in well.
“My first game we played West Ham away and I scored two, so it was a good start to the season.
"I think a winger needs to be able to score goals, so it's something that I'm working on, just trying to get better at in the future.
“Growing up, my dad supported Arsenal, so I grew up supporting Arsenal and I really liked watching Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil growing up because they were unreal players and I really loved watching them.
"It's always a surreal moment just being able to be in the same pitch with the first teamers, so yeah, I really enjoy growing up with them and learning from them.
“The rest of this season, I just want to finish it off strong, just keep trying to score goals and get assists and carry on into next season.”