Making his first start in senior football, Arsenal loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy won Man of the Match and plenty of praise from his new fans.

Arsenal defender Brooke Norton-Cuffy only turned 18 in January, meaning he was still eligible for the u18s this season.

Instead, he spent the first half of the campaign with the u23s, and he’s now been handed an early loan opportunity at League One side Lincoln City.

The right-back started out making appearances from the bench, but he got his first-ever start in senior football against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.

By all accounts, it was a strong full debut. Norton-Cuffy won eight of his 10 individual duels, earning two free-kicks without committing a single foul, he made three tackles without being dribbled past, and he blocked three shots.

Going forward, the teenager completed three of his five dribbles and created one chance.

After the game, a whopping 71% of Lincoln City fans voted Norton-Cuffy their Man of the Match.

Those fans had plenty of good things to say about the Arsenal youngster after the game.

• @rnaughtz: “Unreal, easy MOTM”
• @cornelltheking: “He was extremely impressive and Appleton will get the best out of him this season.”
• @charliebeest: “Man of the match easily. What a bright prospect he is.”
• @andreatheimp: “A brilliant game from Brooke”

The first thing that tends to catch your eye about Norton-Cuffy is his physicality, as he’s very strong on the ball.

That always makes the step up to senior football a little more workable, particularly in the lower leagues where physical attributes are more valued.

The hope is that he can now nail down a spot in the team and continue to develop his game and gain experience.