Jack Porter became the youngest Arsenal player to start a first-team game when the 16-year-old goalkeeper made his debut in a 5-1 Carabao Cup win over Bolton on Wednesday.
At 16 years and 72 days, Porter has surpassed club icon Cesc Fabregas, who was 16 years and 177 days old when he started against Rotherham in October 2003.
Porter was selected in place of first-choice David Raya, who was ruled out with a thigh injury, Arsenal said. Raya left the Etihad Stadium with a bandage on his right knee after injuring it in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
With Neto (a summer loan signing from Bournemouth) cup-bound and 18-year-old backup Tommy Setford also injured, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta called up Porter, who turned 16 in July.
Porter has trained with the first team on a few occasions previously and was named among the substitutes for last week's Champions League trip to Atalanta which ended 0-0.
He only signed a scholarship with the Gunners in the summer and cannot agree a professional contract until next year, when he turns 17.
As reported by ESPN on the final day of the deadline, Arsenal attempted to sign two goalkeepers towards the end of the window, having allowed Aaron Ramsdale to join Southampton on a permanent deal and Karl Hein to move to Real Valladolid on loan.
After securing Neto's arrival, they explored a deal with Joan Garcia at Espanyol and also made an approach to Wolves' Dan Bentley, but were unable to reach an agreement.
Arteta rotated his squad for the Bolton game with youngsters Ethan Nwaneri and Miles Lewis-Skelly among those included, while Raheem Sterling made his first start after joining on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Nwaneri, who scored twice against Bolton, holds the record for being the youngest player to represent Arsenal's first team after coming on as a substitute aged 15 years and 181 days in September 2022.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
