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Marcus McGuane - Who is Barcelona's first Englishman since Gary Lineker, and why did Arsenal sell him?

Marcus McGuane decided to leave Arsenal for Barcelona - getty images
Marcus McGuane decided to leave Arsenal for Barcelona - getty images

With one substitute appearance on Wednesday evening, Marcus McGuane shot from relative unknown teenager to the big time.

In coming off the bench to help Barcelona beat Espanyol in the Catalan Super Cup, McGuane became the first Englishman to feature for the club since Gary Lineker in 1989.

McGuane, 19, only joined the Spanish giants from Arsenal in January and was one of 12 Barcelona B players brought into the first team for the match.

What do we know about the young midfielder and how has he ended up at the one of the biggest clubs in the world?

What has he done in his career?

A born and bred Londoner, McGuane is a product of Arsenal's Hale End Academy, having joined the club when he was just six years old.

Having worked his way through their various youth sides, he went on to captain Arsenal Under-18s and was a regular for the Under-23s when he opted to leave earlier this year.

That decision came after he had featured just twice for Arsenal's first team - late substitute appearances in Europa League wins this season over BATE Borisov and Red Star Belgrade.

Marcus McGuane - Credit: getty images
McGuane featured twice for Arsenal in the Europa League earlier this season Credit: getty images

McGuane's performances in youth football have also led to him gaining international experience. He initially represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-17 level before switching his allegiance to England.

Since making that move, he gained eight caps England Under-17s and Under-18s, before featuring twice for the Under-19s last September.

What position does he play?

The simple answer is defensive midfield. But his versatility meant he played in both defence and midfield for Arsenal's Under-23s before leaving London.

Arsene Wenger had this to say about McGuane: "He is a defensive midfielder, and overall he can play as a wing-back or even a centre-back in training."

Why did he leave Arsenal?

McGuane had spent the entire 12 years of his football education at Arsenal, rising through the ranks to make those two first-team appearances earlier this season.

However, with six months remaining on his contract, he had reportedly grown concerned about his first-team chances and opted against signing a new deal.

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Instead he moved to Barcelona B for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal - with an option to extend for a further two years - containing a buyout clause of €25million (£22.4m).

Wenger's selections in lesser competitions this campaign had seemed to suggest it was Joe Willock who he viewed as the club's most promising young central midfield talent rather than McGuane.

Willock, 18, has been handed five starts in the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup this season, while he was also given a five-year contract in November.

With Willock seemingly rising to the top of the pecking order among the club's young talent, the likes of McGuane and Willock's own brother Chris - who left the club last summer to move to Benfica - have opted to look elsewhere, despite attempts from Arsenal to extend their stays at the club.

Why did Barcelona want him?

McGuane's impressive performance for Arsenal's youth teams had piqued interest from across Europe, with many of the top clubs interested in signing him.

Barcelona had reportedly been watching him for two years and they won the battle to sign him after they were impressed by his blend of technique and physicality.

McGuane has since played four times for Barcelona B and coach Gerard Lopez says the Londoner has "everything we need" in a central midfielder.

"McGuane's adapted well. He's doing well," he told ESPN. "He's a complete player.

"Perhaps he just lacks that calmness on the ball, that pause in terms or our positional play, but he has everything else we need in the middle of the pitch.

"He's a hard worker, good in the air, arrives in the box from deep. He's already added a lot to the team. I can use him in a lot of positions and at his age, he still has a lot of room for improvement.

"In a short time he has already earned my confidence, and I hope he can become an important player for us."

What has McGuane said about it all?

McGuane did not see a great deal of action in his brief substitute appearance on Wednesday night, but had this to say after the match:

It was a massive experience for me and my family. Words can't really describe how it felt walking out there. But it felt really good.

When the coach told me I'm coming on I thought just be calm and play my game and show what I can do.

A lot of people told me when I signed that Gary Lineker was the last English person to play for Barcelona. So to know that I'm next, that's some achievement.

I need to carry on pushing on with the B team and get as many games as possible. And if get any opportunities to go over to the first team, I've just got to show the boss what I can do.