Mikel Arteta has hinted Arsenal’s 15-year-old wonderkid Max Dowman is about for a serious breakthrough within the upcoming Premier League campaign.
The teenager has shined for the Gunners in pre-season, once more registering a powerful performance in Wednesday’s 3-2 friendly defeat to Villarreal on the Emirates.
Dowman is hoping to follow within the footsteps of fellow Hale End academy graduates Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri and break into Arsenal’s first team.
Ahead of Arsenal’s opening game of the season against Manchester United on August 17, Arteta says Dowman ‘deserves to have probabilities’ if he keeps up his stunning form.
Quizzed in regards to the England U17 international attacking midfielder, who has conjured up a remarkable 20 goals and 10 assists in only 25 games for Arsenal U18s, Arteta said: ‘He continues to impress, indisputably.
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‘The impact he had in the sport again today, the efficiency that he shows in every attack and motion, it’s incredible.
‘He deserves to have probabilities and if he continues like this, let’s see what happens.
‘Probably the most similar one was Ethan [Nwaneri]. I feel it was a distinct stage there, but he managed it so fast.
‘Even last 12 months when he was training with us, he was doing this type of thing in training and now he’s doing it in the sport consistently.
‘So the three or 4 games that he’s played, he’s managed to affect and have big moments in the sport.
‘[When my players] have the ball, they offer it to [Dowman]. That tells you the way much they trust him and the connection he’s constructing throughout the team.
‘I feel there’s nothing higher than that. The arrogance they show to make things occur and the constant connection they’ve with him.’
Quizzed directly if Dowman will feature within the Premier League, Arteta added: ‘Let’s see the way it goes. Let’s go into Saturday, into the break as well.
‘He needs a little bit break as well because he hasn’t had any holidays really, so in the subsequent few days he’s going to have a break which I feel he needs after which he’ll probably be ready again to go.’
Meanwhile, former Arsenal wonderkid Charlie Patino has urged Dowman to remain grounded ahead of a possible Premier League debut, telling The Sun: ‘I’d say to him to maintain your head down, be grounded, be humble.
‘Hearken to the people around you. Hearken to the players who’ve got quite a bit more experience.
‘He’s quite a bit younger than me. I’ve seen a number of clips and he looks like a really quality player. At an age like that, we don’t wish to put an excessive amount of pressure on him.
‘It’s all about timing. Time will tell where he gets to. I wish him all the very best in what he does.’
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