Marli Salmon on Arsenal bench for Atletico Madrid semi-final

marli salmon was named among the substitutes as Arsenal faced Atletico Madrid away tonight in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. The 16-year-old defender's inclusion put him in a squad for one of the biggest ties of the season after already collecting senior minutes for the club.

Arsenal's Madrid squad

Salmon has made four competitive senior appearances for Arsenal, with three of those coming in the FA Cup. He also made his Champions League debut against Club Brugge earlier in the campaign and had been on the bench for four further games in the competition, so this is not his first step into senior European football.

Tommy Setford was also among the substitutes after playing for the U21s last weekend, while Max Dowman was on the bench too. Dowman became the first ever schoolboy to be called up by Arsenal for a Champions League semi-final, giving the squad a rare mix of youth involvement at this stage of the competition.

Salmon and Dowman

For Arsenal, the bench carried more than cover for the first leg. Salmon's place showed a 16-year-old defender trusted to travel for a Champions League semi-final in Madrid, and Dowman's call reinforced how far down the age ladder the squad reached for this tie.

That leaves Arsenal with two different teenage names in the match-day group at Atletico Madrid, one with four senior appearances already behind him and another making club history simply by being called up. Tonight's selection put both players on the edge of a high-pressure European night rather than back with the youth sides.