Arsenal is undoubtedly one of the most popular clubs in the UK if not Europe. The club’s reputation has been built on its domestic successes and the many talented players who have left their mark. Some of these players donned the legendary Gunners kit at a very young age, and have gone on to grace the club with their performances.
And whether they were part of the London club’s squad for long seasons or enjoyed a shorter adventure, many of the Baby Gunners stood out for their precociousness and confidence in front of goal. In their honour, GIVEMESPORT has decided to compile a list of the 11 youngest to have found the back of the net as Arsenal players. A list that notably excludes players such as Emile Smith-Rowe (14th) and Serge Gnabry (16th).
Youngest Goalscorers in Arsenal History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Age | Date |
1. | Cesc Fabregas | 16 years, 6 months and 28 days | 2nd December 2003 |
2. | Jack Wilshere | 16 years, 8 months and 22 days | 23rd September 2008 |
3. | Stewart Robson | 17 years, 4 months and 7 days | 13th March 1982 |
4. | Arturo Lupoli | 17 years, 4 months and 16 days | 9th November 2004 |
5. | Ethan Nwaneri | 17 years, 6 months and 4 days | 25th September 2024 |
6. | George Armstrong | 17 years, 8 months and 22 days | 1st May 1962 |
7. | Aaron Ramsey | 17 years, 9 months and 25 days | 21st October 2008 |
8. | Jon Sammels | 17 years, 10 months and 4 days | 27th April 1963 |
9. | John Radford | 17 years, 10 months and 11 days | 2nd January 1965 |
10. | Theo Walcott | 17 years, 11 months and 9 days | 25th February 2007 |
11. | Bukayo Saka | 18 years and 14 days | 19th September 2019 |
11 Bukayo Saka
18 years and 14 days
At just 23 years of age, Bukayo Saka has already made over 230 appearances for Arsenal, establishing himself as one of the best No 7s to ever wear the colours, and is one of the club’s captains. And this November will mark the sixth anniversary of his professional debut when he was just 17 years old.
In 2018, his debut against Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava made him the youngest Gooner to play in the modern version of the Europa League – since 2009. Almost a year later, in September 2019, his goal against Eintracht Frankfurt, the first of his career, established him as his club’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the competition. A record he still holds today.
10 Theo Walcott
17 years, 11 months and 9 days
When Theo Walcott is mentioned, memories of the Barclays Premier League’s heyday immediately spring to mind. An emblematic player of the 2010s, named in The Sun‘s ‘England XI of the future’ back in 2007, the England winger spent 12 seasons at Arsenal, where he played a total of 397 games. Over the course of 12 years, he experienced everything from the highs to the lows but still scored a whopping 108 goals for the Gunners.
The first of those goals scored against Chelsea in the 2007 League Cup final, will have a bitter aftertaste, however, having failed to help his side win the title, which the Blues eventually lifted after Didier Drogba scored twice.
9 John Radford
17 years, 10 months and 11 days
John Radford has scored goals in the 14 years he has spent at Arsenal. 149 to be precise, the 4th highest total for a Gunners player. The centre-forward, who made 481 appearances for the club, did not wait until he came of age to start terrorising opposing goalkeepers.
On the 2nd of January 1965, the Harmsworth-born striker wasted no time in firing past Wolves keeper Dave MacLaren to score the first goal of his career. And to make matters even more memorable, the striker went on to score two more, becoming the youngest player in the club’s history to score a hat-trick. On the 2nd of January 1965, Radford was just 17 years and 10 months old.
8 Jon Sammels
17 years, 10 months and 4 days
While his time at Arsenal may not have left the same mark as that of Radford, with whom he shared the pitch, Jon Sammels’ career was nonetheless paved with success. An important member of the winning teams of the early 1970s (Football League First Division, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, FA Charity Shield), the midfielder played more than 200 games for the Gunners, scoring almost 40 goals.
The first of these, scored against Blackpool in 1963, allowed him to introduce himself to his fans in the best possible way, as it was the first professional match of his career. A memory for the ages.
7 Aaron Ramsey
17 years, 9 months and 25 days
Like Walcott, with whom he shared the pitch on 168 occasions during his Arsenal career, Aaron Ramsey is one of the Gunners’ key figures of the 2010s. Recruited from Cardiff City in 2008, the versatile Welsh midfielder spent almost ten years in north London.
During that time, he played more than 350 games, won several domestic titles and was instrumental on 124 occasions (64 goals, 60 assists). A more than commendable record for a player who, in October 2010, opened his goal account in a Champions League match against Galatasaray. At the time, his goal made him the fifth-youngest goalscorer in the history of the competition – a feat that is no longer being achieved. Nothing less.
6 George Armstrong
17 years, 8 months and 22 days
In the space of almost two decades, George Armstrong has etched his name alongside the illustrious glories of Arsenal. Appearing 621 times for the Gunners – but never for the national team – between 1961 and 1977, the winger scored a total of 68 goals but was especially noted for his speed and quality on the ball.
Quite simply, he was a legend, and today remains one of the youngest players to have found the back of the net while wearing the London shirt. It happened on the 1st of May 1962 against Everton, when he was still just 17.
5 Ethan Nwaneri
17 years, 6 months and 4 days
He is the latest sensation to emerge from the Gunners academy. In 2022, Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player ever to pull on an Arsenal shirt, and since then his career has taken off. And while he is not yet a regular in Mikel Arteta’s team, he is nevertheless one of the youngsters regularly called up to the bench by the Spanish coach.
His two goals in just 113 minutes of his professional career are enough to justify the trust placed in him by his management. A unique talent who, on the 25th of September, became the second-youngest goalscorer in League Cup history – behind Stockport County’s Nathaniel Mapengu.
4 Arturo Lupoli
17 years, 4 months and 16 days
You may have no memory of Arturo Lupoli’s time at Arsenal, but no one can blame you. Recruited from the Parma academy in the summer of 2004, the Italian made just nine appearances, including one in the Premier League, during his two seasons with the Gunners.
However, at the age of 17 years, four months and 16 days, he became one of the youngest goalscorers in the history of the Gunners. It was a successful performance against Everton in the League Cup, in a match in which he even scored twice to send his side through to the quarter-finals of the competition.
3 Stewart Robson
17 years, 4 months and 7 days
A versatile player, capable of playing as a midfielder as well as a full-back, Stewart Robson spent more than eight years on the Highbury pitch. Named Club’s Player of the Year in 1985, he made 186 appearances and scored 21 goals for Arsenal.
In the history books, the player who also pulled on the shirts of West Ham United and Coventry City will forever remain the youngest Arsenal player ever to score a goal in the late First Division – replaced by the Premier League in 1992. A mark set on the 13th of March 1982 at the age of 17 years, four months and seven days.
2 Jack Wilshere
16 years, 8 months and 22 days
A product of the Arsenal Academy, which he joined from Luton Town in 2001, Jack Wilshere occupies second place in this ranking. The central midfielder may only have scored 14 goals for the Gunners, but he still made history.
Remembered for one of the finest team goals of all time, the Englishman is also one of the youngest players to have found the back of the net for the London club, at the age of 16 years and eight months. His goal came in a League Cup match against Sheffield United, during which he got his name on the scoresheet alongside those of Niklas Bendtner (brace) and Carlos Vela (hat-trick).
1 Cesc Fabregas
16 years, 6 months and 28 days
It’s funny that Arsenal’s youngest-ever goalscorer is neither English, nor even British, nor a striker. And yes, Cesc Fabregas was a unique player. The Spanish midfielder arrived in the English capital at the age of 16, having trained at Barcelona’s legendary Masia academy, and it didn’t take long for the spotlight to fall on him.
After becoming the youngest player to wear the club colours a few weeks earlier (a record that now belongs to Nwaneri), the future world champion scored the first goal of his career against Wolves in the fourth round of the 2003 League Cup. The start of a long and glorious adventure in red and white for the Iberian playmaker, now considered one of the greatest Arsenal players ever.
All statistics per Transfermarkt and Arsenal.com. Correct as of 26/10/2024.