There were Arsenal record books all over the Emirates, and every ball he grabbed or passed out elicited thunderous applause.
It was a night that Jack Porter will always remember. In the third round of the Carabao Cup, Arsenal’s 16-year-old goalie was catapulted into the starting lineup to face Bolton.
Porter had been given this chance due to injuries to David Raya and Tommy Setford, as well as the fact that No. 2 goalie Neto was cup-tied.
Despite his natural nervousness and occasional anxieties on the ball, he faced the task at hand with poise. He finished off a strong night’s work with a clean grab of a corner kick at the very end, rising above the opposition players with confidence.
Reaching milestones comes naturally to those who know the teenager from Chelmsford. Ever since he put on his first set of goalkeeping gloves, he has been doing this.
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, aged 16 years and 72 days old, became Arsenal’s youngest-ever player to start a first-team game.
The beginning was in Romford, Essex. Founded in 1965, Gidea Park Rangers experienced financial collapse in 2014. In order to revive the team in 2017, Daniel Petherick, the club’s youth coach, along with colleagues Paul Fairey and Dean Smith, pooled money.
The trio’s desire to give their boys and other young people a path into grassroots football was one of their driving forces.
Porter used to play central midfield for a different team, but he had grown disenchanted with playing out wide. After the season, Petherick’s Under 11 team was about to move up to the Under 12s when he got a call from Porter’s mother Louise; the two had gone to college together.
She wanted to know if Porter could play goal and if he could be a good fit for his club.
It was July of 2019. Petherick told Mail Sport, “He (Porter) came over and joined in my training session, having never played in goal in his life.”
It was really uncomfortable because I already had a goalkeeper! “Jesus Christ, this kid has something about him” was the feeling throughout the first five minutes of the session.
He was a tall boy, standing 5 feet 4 inches when he was eleven. His mother is a tall woman. An exceptionally kind and self-assured young man who was proficient in football and capable of accomplishing things in goal that most eleven-year-olds could not match.
“Oh my God, this boy has a talent,” exclaimed the other coaches and me.
Porter was signed by Petherick. Tony Tucker was the squad’s specialized goalkeeping coach, which was unusual for a grassroots team. He would have one-on-one meetings with Porter. Afterwards, his parents persuaded him to start offering 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 adventure began at the local Gidea Park Rangers in Romford, Essex.
“What struck me about Jack was his rapid rate of learning and his ability to assimilate knowledge before applying it,” Tucker tells Mail Sport.
Since the first lesson he attended, it was always evident that he had something. He was gangly and quite tall. He simply moved like a stopper.
He’s always been a self-assured young man, which is a quality that a goalie needs to possess. In case he was practicing among others, his goal was to excel and surpass all of them.
“He just wanted to keep getting better and better, knowing he was good.” “Whoever I’m training with, I’m going to be better than them” was his mentality.
“Coaching Wednesday night against Bolton was one of my proudest moments to date.” I’ve always known he’s capable.
On August 31, 2019, Petherick provided Porter his first-ever goalkeeping experience at any level for the Gidea Park Rangers Under 12 team against a West Ham development team. Near Christmas, four months later, Arsenal requested him to participate in trials with their developing talent group. A full trial with the Under 12s followed four weeks later.
Due to Covid-mandated delays, it continued for as long as nine months before he was signed to the Under 12s in late 2020.
He is highly respected and received his first taste of first-team training at the age of 14. Porter was chosen by the Gunners to start against Bolton and to start on the Atalanta bench despite the availability of other teenage keepers like Alexei Rojas and Khari Ranson.
Playing four times for the England Under 16s and being a member of the Under 17s team, he has also demonstrated his excellence at the international level.
For his age, he is regarded as confident, and his best qualities are that of a good shot-blocker and a ball-player keeper. There’s still a long way to go at sixteen. He has only appeared in six matches for the Under 18 team of Arsenal and one match for the Under 21 team.
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.’