Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Antonio Arena | ||
Date of birth | 10 February 2009 | ||
Place of birth | Sydney, Australia [1] | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Roma | ||
Number | 68 | ||
Youth career | |||
M&U Football Academy | |||
Western Sydney Wanderers | |||
2022–2025 | Pescara | ||
2025– | Roma | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2025 | Pescara | 4 | (1) |
2025– | Roma | 0 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2024 | Australia U16 | 1 | (0) |
2025– | Italy U16 | 2 | (1) |
2025– | Italy U17 | 4 | (1) |
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20 May 2025 |
Antonio Arena (born 10 February 2009) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Roma. Born in Australia, he has represented both Australia and Italy at youth international level.
Arena is a youth product of the Australians clubs M&U Football Academy and Western Sydney Wanderers, before moving to Pescara in 2022 to finish his development. [2] On 15 February 2025, he signed his first professional contract until 2028. [3] He made his senior and professional debut with Pescara in a 4–1 Serie C win over Lucchese, and scored his side's fourth goal. At 16 years and 25 days old, he became the first 2009-born player to score in professional football in Italy, and also the youngest ever goalscorer for Pescara, beating the record of Marco Verratti. [4]
Born in Australia, Arena is of Italian descent through his grandparents from Reggio Calabria. [6] He holds dual Australian-Italian citizenship. [4] He debuted with the Australia U16s in a friendly 4–3 win over the Switzerland U16s on 16 April 2024. [7] In January 2025, he was called up to the Italy U16s for a set of friendlies. [2]