On October 28, 2003, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made the decision to hand a first-team debut to 16-year-old Spaniard Cesc Fabregas in a League Cup tie against Rotherham United. It was an appearance that saw the former Barcelona youth product become the youngest ever senior player for the Gunners but it wasn't long before Fabregas was writing himself into Arsenal's history books for a second time.
On this day in 2003, Highbury played host to a match between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers, again in the League Cup, as Wenger took the opportunity to combine a mixture of first-team names among the inexperience of youth, with seven of the starting lineup having a combined total of just 13 first-team appearances between them. The likes of Patrick Vieira, Sylvain Wiltord and Nwankwo Kanu stood out, but all eyes were on Fabregas, Gael Clichy, David Bentley and Jeremie Aliadiere to see if they could make a name for themselves in the senior setup.
As for Wolves, the League Cup was proving to be a welcome distraction after a disastrous start to their first Premier League campaign. Dave Jones's team had earned just 11 points from 14 games and rather than make sweeping changes to his usual starting lineup, Jones went for experience by including Jody Craddock, Paul Ince and Alex Rae in his starting XI.
However, if Jones and his Wolves squad were expecting to impose themselves against Arsenal's up-and-comers, they were soon in for a surprise as the Gunners dominated from the outset. While the likes of Bentley and Aliadiere took the opportunity to plough forward at will, it was Kanu who was causing the most problems with the West Midlands outfit unable to cope with his trickery in the final third.
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However, it was Aliadiere who broke the deadlock for Arsenal midway through the first half. The 20-year-old, who had scored in the previous round against Rotherham, capitalised on a poor attempt at a backpass from Lee Naylor to beat goalkeeper Andy Marshall to the ball before converting it into the net.
To Wolves' credit, they ensured that the deficit at the break remained at just the one goal, but they were offering little in attack with Kenny Miller often being snuffed out by the hosts' backline. However, while they remained in the game for the opening 20 minutes of the second half, their capitulation, which seemed somewhat inevitable given their first 14 games in the top flight, started with 23 minutes remaining as Arsenal displayed ruthless efficiency to add a further four goals to their tally.
Kanu netted the second after latching on to a Wiltord cross before, three minutes later, the Nigerian turned provider to set Aliadiere up for his second. A third goal in 12 minutes followed as Wiltord got in on the act but Wolves did grab a consolation in the closing stages through a driven effort from Rae.
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However, after playing a supporting role for much of the night, it was time for Fabregas to take centre stage in North London as he netted his team's fifth to become Arsenal's youngest ever goalscorer at 16 years, 212 days. After Wiltord had beat the offside trap, he had the option of picking out Fabregas or Michal Papadopulos, who was making his one and only appearance in an Arsenal shirt, for the easiest of tasks from close range, and it was the Spaniard who was on hand to tap home from no further than a few yards.
Fabregas's late goal saw him break the record that had previously stood for 21 years after Stewart Robson had scored for Arsenal as a 17-year-old back in 1982. Jack Wilshere joined Fabregas by becoming the second 16-year-old to net in a red and white shirt when he scored in a 6-0 demolition of Sheffield United on September 23, 2008 but the Englishman fell 57 days short of equalling his midfield teammate's mark.
Fabregas wouldn't add to his tally until nine months later where he netted his first Premier League goal against Blackburn Rovers and during a spell at the club that would stretch eight years, Fabregas would go on to score a total of 57 goals in 303 appearances before departing the Emirates Stadium to return to Barcelona.
Darren Plant
