Alex Howell
Max Dowman stood laughing as Declan Rice bounced the ball off his backside during an open training session on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Hong Kong in the summer.
The 15-year-old then tried to mimic the fun piece of skill before manager Mikel Arteta punched the ball away to stop Dowman completing the movement during a light-hearted moment.
It was a reminder that behind the enormous talent he has shown during his outings for the Arsenal first team in pre-season – and now on his Premier League debut – that Dowman was a year 10 student until last month.
That training session took place just a day before he replaced Gunners talisman Bukayo Saka against Tottenham Hotspur in the Kai Tak Stadium. The teenager came on and looked like Arsenal’s brightest attacking spark.
Dowman’s introductions as a substitute were some of the highlights of Arsenal’s pre-season, dazzling with his runs down the right-hand side and winning two penalties against Newcastle United and Villarreal.
At 15 years and 234 days old, he has now become the second-youngest player to play for the club, only behind his team-mate Ethan Nwaneri, who made his debut at 15 years 181 days in September 2022 against Brentford.
The winger came off the bench in the 64th minute and excited the home crowd with a weaving run that was only ended when he was brought down by Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, who was booked.
Then in added time, Dowman again showed quick feet before being dropped by Anton Stach in the penalty area, with Viktor Gyokeres slamming home the spot-kick to complete a 5-0 rout.
‘Dowman can deliver things I’ve never seen in my life’
“This is what we see every single day in training,” Arsenal boss Arteta said when asked by BBC Sport about the Dowman’s impact.
“We gathered the information about how he handles certain situations, in terms of training, being in the squad and not being selected afterwards in Manchester [against United], coming on the bench and feeling ready.
“Again, big compliments to his family. I think they raised a kid with a level of maturity, stability and hunger that is very difficult to see.
“And to the academy – Per [Mertesacker] and all the coaches and everybody that has been involved in that journey.
“Because there is a kid here that has zero hesitation and is so convinced that at 15 he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life. – BBC
