Arsenal prodigy Max Dowman scored twice for Arsenal in their 4-2 win at Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup third round aged just 16, and his stock has been on the rise for the last 18 months
Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman has waited patiently for opportunities in Arsenal’s first team, and has now truly proven that when he gets them, he delivers. The prodigy has already broken records.
At 16 years and 144 days old, the Hale End graduate became the youngest ever player to win the league in May, beating Phil Foden’s previous record set at 17 years and 350 days, set in Manchester City’s successful 2017/18 campaign.
During that Champions campaign he scored a vital goal – in the game against Everton Dowman was allowed to race past the Toffees’ ailing defenders to break through and tap into an empty goal, sending the Emirates Stadium crowd into raptures and becoming the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Last season he also became the youngest player in Champions League history to play in the competition, at 15 years and 308 days old, beating Moukoko’s record set for Borrusia Dortmund in December 2020.
And last night was no different. During the Champions fourth round game against Ipswich, he became the youngest player ever to score a brace for a Premier League club in any competition.
Mikel Arteta has been careful to manage Dowman’s minutes since his big arrival last season but it must be getting harder and harder to not name him on that teamsheet week in and week out.
Rarely has a player looked so equipped to handle first team football and hold his own at such a young age. Dowman has played six times since his Everton heroics then, many as cameos, with Arteta telling him that he must earn his minutes, and earn them last night he did.
Dowman excelled, running the game with ease and a confidence that does not match his age on paper. His first goal saw him nick the ball in midfield and send the goalkeeper the wrong way with his weaker right foot.
“That’s something very natural for him,” said Arteta afterwards. “He can deliver those actions effortlessly. I would say that’s his biggest quality.”
For his second goal Dowman showed precision. Martin Zubimendi’s pass deflected off Jacob Greaves’s left arm, and Dowman, with little space inside the penalty area, adjusted to shoot with his left foot.
And it seems it is getting harder for Arteta to not pick the teen: “Well, it depends. If he does what he does on the pitch, it’s not easy, I understand. But what we have to do is look after him. He’s 16 years old. You don’t see that in this league. In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context.
“With the demands that the league [has], the players and everything put on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he’s in the right context with the right preparation. That’s what we are trying to do.
“He’s 16 years old, and he can create moments, but to consistently go through the game, every phase, with the demands that we put on them, to be able to do that is extremely difficult. And he’s coping better and better and better.”
And even rivals have lined up to praise the boy who only took his GCSEs months ago.
Former Chelsea captain John Terry previously said: “Max Dowman. What a player, by the way. 16 years of age, almost 17, absolutely incredible.
“I watched him play against Chelsea about a year ago — and I’ve not seen anyone glide past people like this man does, other than Messi.”