Max Dowman is one of the standout stars of Arsenal’s preseason campaign, with the 15-year-old midfielder impressed by AC Milan and Newcastle.
Arsenal prospect Max Dowman showed his potential in a training session after heading straight to his head with Martin Odegard. The young man was one of the outstanding performers of gunners during the preseason.
Despite being only 15 years old, Douman caught the eye of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who gave the attacking midfielder a 25-minute runout against AC Milan last week. After his promising performance, Dowman was given a 30-minute spell on Sunday in a 3-2 victory over Newcastle United in Singapore.
His impressive dribbling skills were fully on display, earning a penalty for Odegard to return home for the winning goal.
It remains to be seen whether Dowman’s preseason performance will win him a regular place with the first team, but the teenagers certainly had a positive impact. Videos shared on Arsenal’s YouTube channel from a recent training session have been added to the topic of Douman’s potential.
Upon receiving the wing pass, Dowman quickly controlled the ball, creating spaces from the markers, then cut inside and began running. He shrugged a potential challenge before continuing his attack by skillfully flicking the ball from Arsenal skipper Odegard.
Douman shows off his speed to defeat another defender, but only sees his cross meet the side net after he runs fast through the wings. While encouragement from the camera cried out “bad luck,” Arsenal supporters are buzzing about the potential teenager.
One supporter added to another praise, “How Max Dowman drives the ball with confidence. He’s going to achieve great things in his career. The generation of talent we have!”
A third fan commented: “You can see how Max Dowman is running through the players. That boy is a good guy.” The fourth thought reflects those thoughts.
One supporter summarised up the growing hype around the midfielder. “Max Dowman is a gem!”
Arsenal boss Arteta appears to have agreed to fans’ ratings, particularly after Dowman’s contribution to Arsenal’s victory over Newcastle on Sunday.
“Yeah, that’s special,” Arteta said of Douman at a press conference. “Obviously, what he did to this team today at the point he had on the pitch is certainly not common to witness at a 15-year-old. We’re very happy to have him.”
Arteta shows a trend of developing a person in charge from Arsenal’s academy rank. Last year, Hale-end products Miles Lewis Skelly and Ethan Nu Wanelli became regulars on the team.
Douman is one of the young hopefuls to join the preseason team, and Arteta sees it as a valuable opportunity for the Academy’s outlook. However, he has not confirmed that Douman has a permanent place with the first team next season.
“We don’t know for all the young children,” Arteta explained after his victory over Milan. “Finally, they are always inside and around the team, they are used to the dynamics and demands.
“And the demands needed to run and impact on the level, especially are a very high physical standard. They’re getting there and that’s what you need to give them a good platform and get it.”
In the meantime, Douman had a major impact on his Arsenal colleagues. Declan Rice described Dowman as an “unrealistic” talent and was filled with praise for how the youth rose to the first team’s football challenge.
“Max is clearly unbelievable,” Rice said. “There’s a lot of talk about Max and how good he is, but there are also five or six other young people who will play tonight, including Marli, Josh Nichols and Louis Copley, who were on the bench.
“The group that came with us actually really, really surprised me. I saw a lot of them first. Obviously I know Max, but how composed they are, they’re calm for ages 15 or 16.
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