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Emile Smith-Rowe becomes first Arsenal player born after 2000 to make competitive debut

  /  autty

Highly rated youngster Emile Smith-Rowe made history for Arsenal this week, after becoming the first player born after 2000 to make a competitive debut for the club.

Smith-Rowe entered proceedings on the 70-minute mark to replace Alex Iwobi against Vorskla in the Europa League.

The 18-year-old played his part as the Gunners sealed a 4-2 victory and got their European adventure off to a winning start.

Smith-Rowe earned praise for his performance, and spoke to Arsenal's official club channel following the final whistle to reveal what he was going to do with his debut shirt.

Filming a short video for the Gunners' Instagram account, Smith-Rowe proudly held aloft his No 55.

'This is my first Arsenal shirt that i've worn, and it's going to go to my mum,' said the youngster with a smile.

Smith-Rowe was part of the England Under-17s World Cup winning squad in India last year and has been a talked up prospect in the Arsenal academy for some time.

He made headlines in the summer after getting a chance for the senior side during pre-season and scoring a sublime effort.

The teenager was selected for the International Champions Cup clash with Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, and drilled a long range effort into the top corner after dribbling past a series of players.

New boss Unai Emery is believed to be keeping a close eye on the Englishman, with plans to introduce him to the first team squad on a permanent basis this season.

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