Max Dowman hints at recent Arsenal number and massive promotion | Football

Max Dowman appeared to verify his promotion to Arsenal’s Under-21 squad as he returned to pre-season training today.

The 15-year-old is taken into account some of the promising young talents to emerge from Arsenal’s academy in recent memory and is being tipped for a giant future on the Emirates.

Despite his tender years, Dowman has already trained with Mikel Arteta’s first-team on a variety of occasions and the attacking midfielder joined the remainder of the squad on the club’s warm-weather camp in Dubai in February.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18, and Ethan Nwaneri, 17, each enjoyed magnificent breakthrough seasons with Arsenal last term, emerging from the Hale End youth ranks to ascertain themselves as real stars in north London.

There are hopes Dowman could have an analogous impact down the road, however the Gunners are taking a cautious approach with the teenager while he prepares to make his first steps in senior football.

Dowman is, though, expected to proceed his involvement with Arsenal’s first-team regulars in pre-season on the back of a superb campaign with the Under-18s last term.

This afternoon, Dowman took to Instagram to share a photograph from Arsenal’s London Colney training complex and the teen appeared to intimate that he had now officially joined the U21s, despite still technically being an U16 player.

The numbers for U18 players run through from 70 upwards and, relatively tellingly, the image in query – which was accompanied by an hourglass emoji – showed Dowman donning a pair of No.56 adidas shorts.

Dowman had previously worn the No.99 shirt with the north London outfit.

Back in December, the England Under-17 international made his debut for Arsenal’s U21 side against Brighton on the age of just 14 – becoming the youngest ever player to feature in Premier League 2.

He also holds the record for the teen ever goalscorer in a UEFA Youth League match after finding the online against Atalanta before turning 15 last September.

Chatting with BBC Sport in March, Declan Rice encouraged the ‘unreal’ teen to ‘keep pushing’ to offer himself the most effective possible likelihood of fulfilling his potential in senior football.

‘I even have had so many texts about Max recently,’ the Arsenal and England central midfielder said.

‘At 15, there may be such an extended solution to go. You’ll be able to be the most effective 15-year-old within the country, but it surely doesn’t necessarily mean you will be at 18.

‘So, you should be hungry, keep working and keep pushing.

‘I speak to Max lots and he has got such an excellent family around him. He’s unreal.’

Ashley Cole, meanwhile, has urged Arsenal fans to ‘chill out’ and provides Dowman the time and space he must grow at his own pace.

‘He’s one other one who has come through the Arsenal ranks,’ the previous Arsenal and England left-back said on That Peter Crouch Podcast.

‘With every part online now, you get to see little clips of those players. It’s tough because I don’t know the way they handle pressure.

‘Firstly, you’re giving these players a platform. There are corporations on Instagram that post youth team games and clips of players and it’s great since the players are getting exposure.

‘But on the flip side of that, it’s also adding pressure and do you ought to add pressure to a 16-year-old? Their time will come.

‘In the event that they can keep continuing to do what they’re doing and playing well, everyone will know their name in two or three years. But there may be a number of pressure on these kids.

‘We’re talking about him but has he even played a first-team game yet? In my view, you may have to be slightly bit more careful on how the way you handle this younger generation of players.’

In keeping with Cole, the extent of expectation and pressure on Dowman’s shoulders is ‘unfair’.

‘You heap this pressure on these players and I don’t think it’s fair,’ he added.

‘I bet every Arsenal fan goes, “Why is he [Dowman] not being more involved within the first-team? Why is he not getting a likelihood?”, but delay.

‘He’s doing exams as well, by the best way! Much like Myles [Lewis-Skelly] but let’s chill out slightly bit and let time take its toll and hopefully they may get their opportunity after which everyone will know their name.’

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