Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are enjoying breakout seasons, and Saturday saw them do something that hasn’t occurred for us in nearly 27 years.
The pair have forced themselves into first-team contention during 2024/25. 17-year-old Ethan has now made 20 appearances in all competitions, while 18-year-old Myles is just three behind him. That includes six starts Premier League starts for Myles since he made his Gunners debut at Manchester City in September, while Ethan has made three this term.
But when the teamsheet was issued to the match officials at Wolves, the Hale End duo saw themselves named in our starting line-up for a Premier League game for the very first time, and made history in the process.
That’s because for the first time since February 1998, we selected two English players aged 18 or under in our starting line-up for a league game.
Back then, Arsene Wenger was facing a selection crisis with nine first-team players missing due to various reasons, including Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, David Seaman and Marc Overmars Ahead of a game against Crystal Palace at Highbury, the Frenchman turned to Matthew Upson to plug a gap in his backline, while another 18-year-old in Paolo Vernazza slotted into midfield on what was his first league start.
We won the game 1-0 thanks to a Gilles Grimandi goal to clinch what would be a crucial three points as momentum built towards us achieving the 1997/98 double. Both teens would play their part against the Eagles - Vernazza sent over the corner which led to Grimandi blasting in his first Gunners goal, while Upson kept a clean sheet and struck the post.
😱 A moment of magic from Gilles Grimandi#AFCvCPFC pic.twitter.com/Eo4h1khP6C
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 20, 2018
The rarity of this feat means that just that game and the weekend’s win at Molineux are the only occasions we’ve started two English players aged 18 or under for a Premier League game. In fact, there have only been six occasions where pairs of home-grown teenagers have kicked off a game together in that time:
| Date | Opponent | Players | Age |
| 12/09/1992 | Blackburn | Ray Parlour | 19 Y, 185 D |
| Ian Selley | 18 Y, 90 D | ||
| 21/02/1998 | Crystal Palace | Matthew Upson | 18 Y, 309 D |
| Paulo Vernazza | 18 Y, 112 D | ||
| 11/08/2019 | Newcastle | Reiss Nelson | 19 Y, 244 D |
| Joe Willock | 19 Y, 356 D | ||
| 18/08/2019 | Burnley | Reiss Nelson | 19 Y, 250 D |
| Joe Willock | 19 Y, 362 D | ||
| 21/12/2019 | Everton | Emile Smith Rowe | 19 Y, 146 D |
| Bukayo Saka | 18 Y, 107 D | ||
| 25/01/2025 | Wolves | Ethan Nwaneri | 17 Y, 310 D |
| Myles Lewis-Skelly | 18 Y, 121 D |
The last time we named a pair of under-19s of any nationality in a league starting XI before Saturday was back in May 2021, when Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli began our 3-1 success against West Bromwich Albion.
Four-and-a-half years later, the Hale End production line has helped make it a reality again - and given Mikel Arteta has handed gametime to eight teenagers already in 2024/25, it’s unlikely we’ll be waiting nearly 27 years for this particular statistical quirk to occur once again.
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