Wayne Rooney has outlined how his trademark winner’s mentality was already ingrained on the day he netted his famous first Premier League goal as a 16-year-old – by joking he was “fuming” he had to come off the bench to get it.

It was 15 years on Thursday that Rooney emerged as a substitute at Goodison Park to whip a last-minute shot past David Seaman and end Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten league run.

Rooney recalls he was left “buzzing” by the goal because it meant he realised his dream of becoming the first 16-year-old ever to net in the competition.

Coming just five days before his 17th birthday, the strike made Rooney the then-youngest scorer in Premier League history.

In a quirk of the fixture list, Arsenal are the visitors to Goodison Park this weekend and Rooney recalled his memories of that famous afternoon in an exclusive interview on Friday’s The Everton Show.

“I remember I was just buzzing to score my first league goal,” said the striker, who turns 32 on Tuesday. “I always remember thinking, ‘I need to score in the Premier League before I am 17’. That was what I wanted to do, score when I was still 16 and that was the last chance I had to do it. Thankfully, Moyesy [David Moyes] brought me on and I got the winner.

“I was fuming before kick-off because I had played a couple of games before that and I thought I had done quite well and deserved to start.

“When I was 16 I was always confident, thought I was good enough to play and that was always part of my character as a football player - not being happy that I wasn’t playing.

“Obviously when you look back you understand why they were doing it - to protect me and because of the fact you can’t physically play 90 minutes of all the games.

“But I just wanted to get on the pitch and try to make an impact, and thankfully I did that day.

“Obviously, it was my first goal in the Premier League for Everton, the winner, and Arsenal were on a 30-game winning streak. It’s still such an important goal for me in my career. It was a goal I will always remember.”



Rooney’s last-minute penalty rescued Everton a 1-1 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend, while Arsenal suffered their third away defeat of the campaign at Watford.

A 2-1 win over Arsene Wenger’s side at Goodison last season proved a turning point in the Toffees’ season and, while wary of a potential Gunners backlash, summer arrival Rooney is hoping for a similar morale-boosting outcome this time around.

“I think Arsenal have some great players and they have been a bit unlucky,” he added. “It’s going to be a tough game, they will pass and move the ball and try to get into little pockets and cause problems.

“We have to try to be compact, not allow them the spaces in between defence and midfield, get behind the ball and frustrate them.

“When we get chances we need to play a bit, and we need to be aggressive, not just in tackling but in running as well.

“I think the fans feel that, and if we can do it and be solid, we will get opportunities and then we need to take them.” 

Watch The Everton Show, featuring Wayne Rooney, here.

An in-depth Rooney interview also features in Everton's official matchday programme for the game against Arsenal. Click here to find out more.

Everton has released a special commemorative range of clothing to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Goodison Park. Find out more and how to order.