Ethan Nwaneri has the opportunity to make more Premier League history as Arsenal hosts Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium this Sunday. At just 17, he is already the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League, having made his debut against Brentford in September 213. Since then, he has shown significant improvement under Mikel Arteta, contributing eight goals and one assist in 28 matches across all competitions this season. However, this performance wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s initial England squad. Nonetheless, he has been selected for the Under-21s for the first time ahead of matches in March, and a return to the Arsenal starting lineup is expected when Chelsea comes to town. Nwaneri was rested during the 2-2 Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday, where Raheem Sterling excelled, but he is unable to play against his parent club Chelsea. Consequently, Nwaneri is set to return to the starting eleven for the Chelsea match, and according to Sport Mole, scoring in this game would make him the youngest player to score in a Premier League London derby. No one under 18 has scored in a match between capital clubs in this league, and it will be Nwaneri’s last game before turning 18 next Friday. If he scores, he will join James Milner in an exclusive group, as Milner is currently the only player to have netted against Chelsea before reaching 18. Milner was only 16 years and 358 days old when he scored for Leeds United against Chelsea in December 2002, making him the second-youngest scorer in Premier League history, following former Everton prodigy James Vaughan. While Nwaneri awaits his senior England debut, Myles Lewis-Skelly has been called up by Tuchel for this month’s World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Albania (March 21) and Latvia (March 24).
