Wayne Rooney: Arsene Wenger's interview after incredible Everton debut vs Arsenal | OneFootball

It’s been exactly 20 years since Wayne Rooney’s incredible Everton debut against Arsenal.

Rooney, just 16 at the time, well and truly burst onto the scene with a sensational strike to give his boyhood club a 2-1 victory over Arsene Wenger’s side.

Arsenal were unbeaten in their previous 30 matches and were being held by David Moyes’ Everton. With 10 minutes remaining, Tomasz Radzinski made way for Rooney.

Ten minutes were all that Rooney needed as he brought down Thomas Gravesen’s punt, spun away from Lauren and curled a beautiful effort off the underside of the crossbar and past David Seaman.

“Remember the name, Wayne Rooney!” exclaimed commentator Clive Tyldesley as Rooney became the Premier League's youngest goalscorer.

VIDEO: Rooney's incredible debut goal vs Arsenal

We didn't have to 'remember the name' because it didn't take long for Rooney to become a superstar.

Arsenal's unbeaten run was over but that wasn't the storyline that afternoon on Saturday, October 19 2002. It was all about Rooney.

So much so that the defeated manager, Wenger, was asked about the 16-year-old in his post-match interview. After just losing their first game in a long time, you'd think the Frenchman would just want to focus on his own side and not have too much to say about this new exciting talent.

But it was quite the opposite, in fact.

Wenger couldn't hide his excitement at seeing Rooney for the first time and didn't hold back in his praise in a remarkable interview. Considering he had seen just 10 minutes of him in action...

VIDEO: Wenger's post-match interview after Rooney's debut

"It's a special goal and a special talent. The biggest English talent I've seen since I've been in England, by far," said Wenger.

"He has everything that you can dream to have. Intelligent, quick reactions, good at running with the ball, moving forward quickly and of course, he is very accurate in front of goal.

"I hope he will not be injured now in the next two or three years and mentally he will be able to cope with what's happening with him. He is a huge talent."

When asked if Everton would be able to keep hold of the striker, Wenger added: "It is too early to say. I'm just giving a frank opinion of what I feel.

"I think he is too young to move now anyway. First, he has to prove at Everton how far he can go. He has time in front of him to see first, step by step.

"To keep his feet on earth, that is the most important thing you can wish."

Beautiful words from Wenger. After all, he knows a young talent when he sees one.

Rooney would go to score 17 times in two seasons for Everton, before he earned a record-breaking move to Manchester United.

The rest, as they say, is history.