Arsenal midfielder Luis Munoz became the youngest player to play in the UEFA Youth League at just 13 years old.
Born in December 2011, Munoz came off the bench as Arsenal Under-19s beat Bayern Munich 4-2. He was 13 years, 11 months, and 15 days old. This broke the previous record set by Liam Payas, who played for Lincoln Red Imps Under-19s at 14 years and three months in September 2024.
Munoz is an England Under-15 international. He was one of several schoolboys included in Arsenal’s squad to gain experience in the Youth League, even though advancing to the knockout stages was unlikely.
The UEFA Youth League follows the same format as the Champions League. It includes U-19 teams of senior competition entrants and domestic youth champions from UEFA member countries. Players born on or after January 1, 2007, are eligible this season, with up to five players born in 2006 allowed in each squad.
Munoz replaced Kyran Thompson in the 85th minute. Thompson had scored Arsenal’s second goal. Munoz played up front. Max Dowman, the youngest-ever scorer in the Youth League, played on the right wing. He scored Arsenal’s first and fourth goals.
Munoz has also played for Arsenal’s Under-16s this season. He was part of the squad that won the Premier League U16 National Finals against Aston Villa earlier this month. Emerson Nwaneri, younger brother of first-team midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, also made his Youth League debut alongside Munoz.
Aged 15, Emerson scored the decisive penalty in the Premier League National Final. He plays in midfield and right-back. In the Youth League match, he played in midfield to help Arsenal hold off Bayern’s late pressure.
Last year, Ethan told the official Arsenal website about his brother: “He’s a midfielder but he can play right back as well. He’s probably more outgoing than me – he’s the loud one! There are three years between us so it would be really cool if we could both play in the Arsenal first team together one day. We’ve spoken about that a bit and what that would be like, it’s something to aim for.”
The win was Arsenal’s first in the Youth League this season. It lifted them above Bayern into 30th place in the table. However, only the top 22 teams qualify for the next round.
