Who became the youngest Premier League player at 15 years and 181 days in 2022?

Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player to appear in the Premier League when he debuted for Arsenal at 15 years and 181 days old in 2022.

Nwaneri made his record-breaking appearance on 18 September 2022, coming on as a stoppage-time substitute against Brentford. Arsenal won the match 3–0, and manager Mikel Arteta later said a strong instinct, combined with first-team injuries, influenced the decision to include the schoolboy in the squad.

The appearance broke the previous Premier League record held by Harvey Elliott, who had played for Fulham at 16 years and 30 days. Nwaneri also surpassed the longstanding English top-flight age record associated with Sunderland goalkeeper Derek Forster, set in 1964. Because Nwaneri entered the match as a substitute, the record is for appearing in a Premier League game, not for starting one.

Another frequent confusion is with the youngest goalscorer record, which is a separate category. Nwaneri’s achievement concerns age at first league appearance and remains the standard answer to this question.