Albrighton Scores The 20,000th Goal

Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton delighted to have scored Premier League’s 20,000th goal

The 22-year-old's effort at Villa Park in the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal reached the milestone, with the midfielder donating the £20,000 cheque to Acorns Children's Hospice

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22 December 2011

Aston Villa midfielder Marc Albrighton scored the landmark 20,000th Premier League goal on Wednseday, equalising in the 54th minute from Robin van Persie's penalty before Arsenal eventually came out 2-1 winners.

With the historic goal, the 22-year-old was handed a £20,000 cheque to donate to his chosen charity - Acorns Children's Hospice Trust - to be paid on behalf of league sponsor Barclays.

Albrighton was honoured by the accolade and excited for a great cause to receive such generous backing.

He said: “It’s a brilliant occasion and a brilliant feeling to have got that record. It’s something that I can tell the kids and the grandkids about.

"The Barclays Premier League is one of the greatest leagues in the world, if not the greatest, so to score the 20,000th goal is a great honour.

"To raise £20,000 for such a great cause is brilliant and that will make me happy tonight.

"There are some great people at Acorns doing some special things, they deserve every plaudit they get and they definitely deserve the money. At times you take things too seriously in life but you visit a place like Acorns and it really opens your eyes."

Acorns Chief Executive David Strudley said: "Fundraising is incredibly challenging for charities at the moment, so to receive this donation is beyond anything we could have imagined and has really made our Christmas.

"The money will cover a whole day of our entire operation, so we’re extremely grateful to Marc and to Barclays for making this possible."

The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane for Sheffield United in their 2-1 victory over Manchester United, which kicked off the Premier League era in 1992.

Les Ferdinand scored the 10,000th goal for Tottenham against Fulham in December 2001, while Cottagers full-back Moritz Volz was the unlikely scorer of the Premier League's 15,000th goal.