Marcus Rashford Responds After William Saliba Mentions Him in Cryptic Post

An amused Marcus Rashford has responded after Arsenal defender William Saliba commented “Rashford” on teammate Andre Harriman-Annous' latest Instagram post.

Harriman-Annous made his senior debut for the Gunners on Wednesday night as Mikel Arteta handed the highly-rated academy product a start in their Carabao Cup fourth round clash against Brighton.

The 17-year-old midfielder, who is the cousin of England rugby union captain Maro Itoje, played 77 minutes at the Emirates before being replaced by Declan Rice.

Arteta was full of praise for Harriman-Annous in his post-match press conference.

"Since pre-season when he was with us, I was very impressed with him," he said. "First of all, his mentality, how much he wants it. That's the first ingredient. He's desperate to achieve his dream."

Arteta added: "I think he has been very consistent, training with us and constantly giving us the option to pick him. I believe today was the right day for him, for the context, for the way he's playing as well. He certainly proved he has got a chance."

After the full-time whistle, the teenager celebrated his senior debut with a post on Instagram.

Alongside a carousel of pictures, he wrote: "What a night! A dream come true to start for Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and a proud moment for me and my family to have made my competitive debut for this amazing club."

He added: "Thanks to GOD for the opportunity that he has given me. Forever grateful for this opportunity and happy to be in the next round."

Several Arsenal teammates left a comment on his post, including Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber and Max Dowman, although it was William Saliba's post that brought the most reaction from fans online.

Saliba simply wrote "Rashford" in the comments section, which is seemingly a nod to an old viral video featuring Harriman-Annous, which showed him pretending to be Marcus Rashford's younger brother.

As you can see in the footage above, the teenager took his seat in the stands last December before a fan asked, “You look like Rashford. Are you his brother?”

After replying with a simple "yeah", Harriman-Annous was asked for his name. “Andre Rashford,” he said, before getting up and walking away with a smile on his face.

Rashford, meanwhile, responded to Saliba's comment with two laughing face emojis. He also congratulated the 17-year-old on making his senior debut for the Gunners, who would record a 2-0 win over Brighton.

Mikel Arteta mentioned Harriman-Annous again in his post-match comments as he stressed the importance of giving youth first-team minutes.

"When we talk about players that are starting their careers because we've all been there. That's something that I discuss with the players," he said.

“Make sure that when Andre Harriman-Annous thinks about this day, he knows the exact date, the team, the hour, who he played next to and what actually happened that day, because that's with you for the rest of your life and we are all responsible to make that day, that night very special for him.

“The other fact is that because you're playing in a cup, you are in or you are out. If we want to win every trophy and want to be there, we have to be ruthless in every competition. In order to achieve that, we are going to need every player and in order to do that, you have to be at your best."