The Arsenal record books were strewn across the Emirates, and every ball he caught or pass distributed returned deafening cheers.
It was a night that will live long in the memory of Jack Porter. A 16-year-old goalkeeper thrust into the Arsenal first-team to play Bolton in the Carabao Cup third round.
Injuries to David Raya and Tommy Setford, and No2 keeper Neto being cup-tied, had presented Porter with this opportunity.
He was understandably nervous, with some jitters on the ball, but stood tall to the task at hand. His clean grab of a corner-kick at the very end, rising above the opposition players with assuredness, capped off a good night’s work.
For those close to the Chelmsford-born teenager, landing milestones is no surprise. He has been doing this since he first tried on a pair of goalkeeping gloves.
Jack Porter (yellow top) made a magical debut for Arsenal’s first-team at just 16-years-old
The teenager was thrust into the starting position amidst a shortage of available goalkeepers
Porter was congratulated by team-mate Declan Rice (left) as Arsenal earned a 5-1 win over Bolton
Arsenal had, unbelievably, scouted him just four months after he played in goal for the first time aged 11. He was at Gidea Park Rangers FC — the same grassroots club Tony Adams played for.
That spell transformed his fortunes from a frustrated midfielder to a burgeoning shot-stopper. His talents behind the scenes at Arsenal have long been known.
Gunners legend David Seaman visits the Hale End academy regularly and is understood to have mentioned about Porter’s ability. Though Mail Sport understands it was first-team goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana who vouched for the teenager, telling Mikel Arteta that Porter was capable of playing if required.
The north London club were waiting on assessments of Raya’s fitness, having sustained a knock against Manchester City, as they wanted to give the Spaniard every chance to play the Bolton match. It was on Tuesday afternoon in training when Porter was given the go-ahead.
Whatever is to transpire from now, he has a slew of records he may well hold onto for the rest of his career. Arsenal’s youngest-ever player to start a first-team match, at 16 years and 72 days old.
The club’s youngest-ever goalkeeper, beating a 55-year-old record held by Malcolm Webster who at 18 years, 308 days, debuted in 1969.
And, to throw in for good measure, his spot on the bench against Atalanta in the Champions League last week made him the youngest-ever keeper to be in a matchday squad in the competition.
Porter became Arsenal’s youngest-ever player to start a first-team match, at 16 years and 72 days old
It all started in Romford, Essex. Gidea Park Rangers, founded in 1965, had financially gone bust in 2014. So youth coach Daniel Petherick and colleagues Paul Fairey and Dean Smith cobbled money together to bring the club back to life in 2017.
One motivation for the trio was to allow their sons and other youngsters a route into grassroots football.
Porter was a central midfielder at a different club but had started to not enjoy playing outfield. Petherick’s Under 11 side had just finished the season, heading into the Under 12s, when he received a call from Porter’s mother Louise — the pair knew each other from college.
She asked if Porter could join his team, and get an opinion on if he could be any good in goal.
‘This was July 2019. He (Porter) came over, having never played in goal in his life, and joined in my training session,’ Petherick tells Mail Sport.
‘I already had a goalkeeper which was very awkward! From the first five minutes of the session it was like, “Jesus Christ, this kid has something about him”.
‘He was 5ft 4in when aged 11, so he was a tall lad. His mum is a tall lady. A really nice kid, really confident, knew how to play football and was doing stuff in goal which most 11 year olds were not doing.
‘Me and the other coaches were like, “Oh my God, this lad has got a talent”.’
Petherick signed Porter. The team, unusually at grassroots level, had a specialised goalkeeping coach, Tony Tucker. He would give Porter one-on-one sessions. His parents then also got him to also provide private coaching sessions.
First-team goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana (left) vouched for the teenager to Mikel Arteta (right)
Porter had only played six games for the Arsenal Under 18s and just once for the Under 21s before making his first-team debut
Porter’s journey started in Romford, Essex at local side Gidea Park Rangers
‘The thing that stuck out with Jack was how quick he learnt things and took information on board and then put it into practice,’ Tucker tells Mail Sport.
‘You could always see he had something from the first lesson he had come in. He was very tall, gangly. He just moved like a goalkeeper.
‘He’s always been a confident lad, he believes in his own ability which, as a goalkeeper, you’ve got to have. If he was training with others, he wanted to be the best there and out train everyone.
‘He knew he was good and just wanted to get better and better. He had that attitude of, “Whoever I’m training with, I’m going to be better than them”.
‘(Wednesday night vs Bolton) was one of the proudest moments I’ve had in coaching. I always knew he could do it.’
Petherick gave Porter his goalkeeping debut, at any level, for Gidea Park Rangers’ Under 12 team against a West Ham development side on August 31, 2019. Four months later, close to Christmas, Arsenal invited him in for trials with their emerging talent group before four weeks later giving him a full trial with the Under 12s.
That went on for up to nine months because of Covid-enforced delays, before he was signed to the Under 12s in late 2020.
He had his first taste of first-team training aged 14 and is well-regarded. There are other teenage keepers such as Alexei Rojas and Khari Ranson who were available, but it was Porter the Gunners turned to for the Atalanta bench — and now to start against Bolton.
He has excelled at international level, too, having played four times for the England Under 16s and been in the Under 17s squad.
He is said to be self-assured for his age and his key attributes are as a ball-playing keeper and solid shot-stopper. At 16, there is still a long way to go. He has only played six games for the Arsenal Under 18s and just once for the Under 21s.
Porter has been gaining invaluable experience spending time around Arsenal’s first-team
Porter conceded just once against Bolton as Arsenal began their Carabao Cup campaign
He signed scholarship terms two months ago, when turning 16, which sees Porter train with the first-team goalkeeping coach. For now, those around him could not be prouder.
Petherick adds: ‘It’s amazing, breaking all those records, too. It’s thoroughly deserved. The lad’s work ethic was unreal.
‘He used to train who knows how many times a week — a lot — through wind, rain and snow. He’s always had that desire in his belly and he clearly fully deserves it.
‘It’s not luck, it’s down to hard work and talent. It’s a really proud moment. Putting him in goal and taking a chance on him has worked out brilliantly for him. He’s a fantastic boy.’