Premier League's 10 youngest players of all time after Max Dowman Arsenal debut

Born five-and-a-half years after Arsenal won their first Premier League title, three-and-a-bit years after their move to the Emirates Stadium and the day before 2010 came into view, Max Dowman is the newest Hale End gem making waves in a red and white shirt.

The embryonic attacker was ineligible to make his senior Gunners debut last season, having only been registered as an Under-15s player, but Dowman was making headlines left, right and centre for the youth team as he earned the 'next Kaka' label.

Less than a year on from becoming the youngest player to score in the UEFA Youth League, a 15-year-old Dowman made his competitive debut for Arsenal in their 5-0 Premier League win over Leeds United, even winning a late penalty for Viktor Gyokeres to tuck home.

Dowman's dream debut was just reward for an eye-catching pre-season campaign - in which he was also felled for spot kicks against Newcastle United and Villarreal - and the teenager earned a spot in the history books in the process.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the 10 youngest players to have ever made an appearance in the Premier League.

10. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy - 16 years, six months, 14 days

Another player to come out on the correct end of the scoreline during his Premier League debut was Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, who was just 16 when he made a seven-minute cameo in Aston Villa's 4-0 win at Sunderland in March 2015.

Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor had both scores braces in the first half before Tim Sherwood turned to Hepburn-Murphy, who remains the Lions' youngest-ever player in the Premier League.

The striker would never hit the heights of Benteke or Agbonlahor at Villa Park and left for Cypriot side Pafos FC in 2020, but he returned to England two years later to join Swindon Town before jumping ship for Crawley Town in 2024.

=. Gary McSheffrey - 16 years, six months, 14 days

Exactly the same age as Hepburn-Murphy was when he made his Premier League bow, a 16-year-old Gary McSheffrey is the only player on this list to earn their first minutes in the competition during the 1990s.

While representing Coventry City, the former winger came on in the 89th minute of a 4-1 victory away to Aston Villa, before establishing himself as a consistent goalscoring threat in the Championship.

After several strong second-tier seasons - including a remarkable 20 assists in 2006-07 - McSheffrey became a Premier League regular for Birmingham City in the 2007-08 campaign, playing 32 times in the top flight.

8. Jose Baxter - 16 years, six months, nine days

The first player on this list to suffer defeat on his Premier League debut, Jose Baxter tried and failed to help Everton over the line in a 3-2 loss to Blackburn on the first day of the 2008-09 season.

A fresh-faced 16-year-old, attacking midfielder Baxter came on for the final 11 minutes at Goodison Park with the score at 2-2, but David Moyes's decision backfired as Blackburn scored a 93rd-minute winner through Andre Ooijer.

After being released by Everton in 2012 - although he briefly represented the Under-21s in 2017-18 - Baxter plied his trade for Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic and Memphis before hanging up his boots in 2021.

7. Aaron Lennon - 16 years, four months, seven days

Such was Aaron Lennon's longevity that the England winger was around back in the Glenn Hoddle era of Tottenham Hotspur, making his Premier League debut all the way back in 2003 against the Lilywhites for Leeds United.

Lennon was a 77th-minute substitute for Mark Viduka in that 2-1 defeat before earning a move to Tottenham in the summer of 2005, eventually totalling 30 goals and 79 assists in 364 games for the North London club.

The winger enjoyed more Premier League minutes with Burnley and Everton during the latter stages of his career before retiring in 2022, having also won 21 caps for England and been a part of two World Cup squads.

6. Izzy Brown - 16 years, three months, 27 days

Sharing striking similarities with Baxter's debut, former West Bromwich Albion youngster Izzy Brown was also a mere 16 years of age when he made his top-flight bow in a 3-2 loss to Wigan Athletic in 2013.

The striker was a late substitute for Youssouf Molumbu but could not influence the game in the dying embers, although his rise was enough to earn him a move to Chelsea later that year.

As has been the case with a plethora of Blues youngsters, Brown made just the one appearance for Chelsea and was loaned out countless times before joining Preston North End on a free transfer. His Deepdale career was short-lived, though, and he retired at just 26 due to frequent injury problems.

5. Matthew Briggs - 16 years, two months, seven days

Final-day Premier League showdowns at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium will be best remembered for the 8-1 thrashing inflicted upon Manchester City in 2008, but history was written one year beforehand.

Fulham also went down to Boro on the final day in 2006-07 - losing 3-1 - but 16-year-old Matthew Briggs became the Premier League's youngest-ever player after coming on for Moritz Volz in the 77th minute.

Briggs - who held the record for 12 years - would sit his GCSE Exams just 24 hours later, but the Guyana international never made it big and retired in 2023 after hopping from lower-league club to lower-league club.

4. Harvey Elliott - 16 years, 30 days

Another Cottagers starlet to hold the distinguished honour of being the Premier League's youngest-ever player, Harvey Elliott broke Briggs's record when he debuted for Fulham in May 2019 against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Scott Parker's side lost 1-0 on the day as Elliott came on for the final two minutes, and such was his talent that Liverpool quickly moved to sign him just a few months later.

Still in the embryonic stages of his career, Elliott established himself as a key member of Jurgen Klopp's first team squad, but he found opportunities hard to come by under Arne Slot and is now on his way to Aston Villa.

3. Jeremy Monga - 15 years, eight months, 28 days

Leicester City's 2024-25 Premier League season made headlines for all the wrong reasons, but talented teenager Jeremy Monga was in the spotlight for the right reasons in a home fixture against Newcastle United in April 2025.

With the game already long gone as a contest thanks to the Magpies' 3-0 lead, Ruud van Nistelrooy sent on Monga for his debut in the final 15 minutes, as he became the then-second-youngest player to ever appear in the competition at 15 years, eight months and 28 days.

"You could see glimpses of his great qualities. He's a great winger and has speed. He's a fantastic talent, a great boy. He deserved these minutes and hopefully, more to come," Van Nistelrooy said of Monga, whose potential at least offers Leicester fans some hope for the future after a disastrous return to the top flight.

2. Max Dowman - 15 years, seven months, 23 days

Four-nil up at home to Leeds United, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta may have felt that he had no good reason not to hand Max Dowman his Premier League debut, especially after the attacker held his own against players twice his age in pre-season.

At the age of 15 years, seven months and 23 days, Dowman overtook Monga as the second-youngest player to appear in England's top flight since 1992; once again, he barely looked out of place on the right-hand side.

The 2009-born product even won a late spot kick after taking a stamp to the foot from Anton Stach, while also trying his luck with a couple of shots from outside the area, as his teammates sought to engineer a magical moment for him.

1. Ethan Nwaneri - 15 years, five months, 28 days

A chorus of "You've got school in the morning" rang out around the Brentford Community Stadium when Nwaneri came on for Arsenal in September 2022.

Queen Elizabeth II's death and the coinciding state funeral meant that such chants were inaccurate, but that took nothing away from the teenager's historic moment.

Quickly demonstrating his class at Under-18 level, Nwaneri was promoted to Under-21s training for Arsenal, whose academy manager Per Mertesacker gave Arteta glowing reports from his time at youth level.

Martin Odegaard's injury opened up a spot for Nwaneri to travel with the first-team squad for the trip to Brentford, and Arteta felt it appropriate for the Englishman to experience a taste of top-flight football with his dominant side 3-0 to the good.

Arteta has warned optimistic fans that Nwaneri may need to take a "step back" before taking another step forward, but there is every reason for Gooners to get excited about this history-making starlet, and it is difficult to see his record being broken anytime soon.

At a time when Arsenal are finding it difficult to keep hold of some talented academy stars - Reuell Walters, Chido Obi Martin and Amario Cozier-Duberry spring to mind - they managed to convince Nwaneri that his future lies at the Emirates, tying him down to a professional deal on his 17th birthday and an extension a year later.

The midfielder also excelled for England at the 2024 Under-17 European Championships, so it is no wonder that Manchester City and Manchester United apparently took a liking to him before he put pen to paper in North London.