Goalkeeper Jack Porter is set to make his Arsenal debut at the age of 16 after an injury to David Raya left the teenager as first choice for tonight’s Carabao Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers.
Raya was seen limping to Arsenal’s team bus with a bandage around his knee following the 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Sunday, and the Gunners do not want to take any risks with the Spaniard’s fitness.
However, back-up goalkeeper Neto is cup-tied after playing for Bournemouth in the 1-0 defeat to West Ham before he signed on loan as a replacement for Aaron Ramsdale, who was sold to Southampton for £25m on deadline day.
And Arsenal’s third-choice goalkeeper, 18-year-old Tommy Setford, is also injured, leaving Porter as Mikel Arteta’s only option for the visit of League One side Bolton in the third round tie.
Porter, who turned 16 in July, has trained with the Arsenal first team, and was on the bench last week in the Champions League for the 0-0 draw with Atalanta. He also travelled to the Etihad with the first team on Sunday.
He has also represented England at Under-16 and Under-17 level, and made several appearances for the Arsenal Under-21s this season.
Arteta is set to make several changes to his team following Sunday’s explosive 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad, where the Gunners played with 10 men for the second half following Leandro Trossard’s red card.
The Belgian forward is suspended, while captain Martin Odegaard and midfielder Mikel Merino remain injured. Arteta has therefore handed appearances to two other teenagers, in Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, who have been seen minutes off the bench in recent weeks. Raheem Sterling is also making his full debut.
Porter is yet to sign professional terms with Arsenal but signed a scholarship deal with the Gunners this summer. Arteta’s team would have assessed the teenager’s ability on the ball as well before making their decision to include him in plans for the Carabao Cup tie.