Alex Iwobi has made the 40-strong longlist for the 2016 Golden Boy award, run by the Italian publication Tuttosport and awarded to the best footballer under the age of 21 playing in Europe.

The Nigerian international, 20, has enjoyed a stunning 12-months at the Emirates, making his first team, Premier League and Champions League debut in the space of eight days last October. Towards the tail end of the last campaign the attacking midfielder, nephew of Jay-Jay Okocha, became a regular in Arsene Wenger’s starting line-up and has since been rewarded for his fine form with a new squad number, 17.

Iwobi is one of ten youngsters playing in the Premier League to be nominated for the award by Tuttosport. The winner will be selected by a panel of 30 journalists.

Cesc Fabregas is the only former Gunner to have won the award since its inauguration in 2003. The Spaniard won the gong in 2006, impressing for Arsenal on the road to the Champions League final.

Full list of 2016 nominees:

Dele Alli (Tottenham), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Leon Bailey (Genk), Riechedly Bazoer (Ajax), Gabriel Boschilia (Monaco), Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Carlos Fernandez (Sevilla), Andreas Christensen (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ante Coric (Dinamo Zagreb), Amadou Diawara (Napoli), Mahmoud Dahoud (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Danilo Barbosa (Benfica), Moussa Dembélé (Celtic), Ousmane Dembélé (Dortmund), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Breel Embolo (Schalke), Gabriel Barbosa (Internazionale), Aleksandr Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Goncalo Guedes (Benfica), Demarai Gray (Leicester), Marko Grujic (Liverpool), Alen Halilovic (Hamburg), Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal), Viktor Kovalenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Lucas Hernández (Atlético Madrid), Emanuel Mammana (Lyon), Nathan (Vitesse), Olivier Ntcham (Genoa), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich), Jairo Riedewald (Ajax), Rúben Neves (Porto), Tonny Sanabria (Real Betis), Leroy Sané (Manchester City), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht), Almamy Touré (Monaco).