A football-mad boy from Ramsbottom will walk out as Liverpool’s mascot in their crunch FA Cup tie against Arsenal this weekend.

Joshua Newby, aged seven, will stand in front of 60,000 people at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday with his beloved Liverpool team.

Joshua, of Stanford Hall Crescent, is a member of the Liverpool Supporters Club, and was lucky to be chosen from thousands of members to represent the club. He is likely to walk out with captain Steven Gerrard. Joshua’s father, Jon, is a former professional footballer, and made four appearances for Liverpool, one of which was in the Premier League against Middlesbrough.

He now works as a football coach in Liverpool.

Joshua plays for Brandlesholme Warriors, and even at the tender age of seven, he has managed to do something his father did not achieve.

Jon said: “I never got the chance to play at Arsenal, so he has beat me to that one!

“I have always been a Liverpool supporter and I was fortunate enough to play a couple of games, so to see him lead them out on the pitch is great.”

Mr Newby was in the year above future stars Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard while at Liverpool, and was in the year below Jamie Carragher.

He said: “It was brilliant. You could see then that they were special players and that they would go on to play for England, and I think now they are perfect role models for kids.”