More and more players under the age of 18 are making their debut in a first division match in football. Now it was the turn of Max Dowman, who made his debut with Arsenal this Saturday (August 23) with a 5-0 victory against Leeds United.
From British lands they already point to Dowman as the next great talent, who at just 15 years, 7 months and 23 days, managed to write his name in the history books by becoming the second youngest player to debut in the Premier League. Only his teammate Ethan Nwaneri surpasses him (15 years, 5 months and 28 days).
Although he is naturally an attacking midfielder, Max Dowman can also play as a right winger, something he did in his debut, leaving an impression that already generates comparisons with Lamine Yamal, who debuted with FC Barcelona at 15 years, 9 months and 16 days.
The player has a good left foot, a lot of skill and electric drives, something he showed in his debut, and if he stays in the first team dynamic he can compete for a place with Bukayo Saka.
Max Dowman, a valuable asset for Arsenal
During the preseason, coach Mikel Arteta was clearly showing that the now '56' of 'the gunners' was in his plans. He gave him minutes, supported him in the group, but there were still voices that doubted his real role in the season.
However, the answer came early. In the second Premier League match, against Leeds, Dowman jumped off the bench and unleashed his talent. With an overflowing performance, he dispelled any uncertainty and confirmed that he could take on the challenge proposed by the Arsenal strategist.
And the player is completely daring, as he left the Emirates Stadium after causing a penalty that Viktor Gyokeres (who scored a double) transformed into the 5-0 at 93' against 'the peacocks'. He achieved this in just 26 minutes.
Mat Dowman knocks on the door of the first team from 2024/25
For the fans of 'the gunners' the irruption of Mat Dowman in the first team is not a surprise. And it is that in the past season with the under-18, under-19 and under-21 teams of Arsenal he achieved records that knocked down the door of Mikel Arteta.
Thus, the native of Chelmsford recorded 19 goals and 5 assists in 22 matches with the lower categories of the current runner-up of the Premier League.
It should be remembered that the coach of 'the gunners' was asked last season about the right winger and argued that he would take things naturally, just like with Nwaneri.
"Max has a lot of talent. Will he debut soon? It's not a question of that. Things happen in a natural way. With Nwaneri it happened like that: I didn't think that if he debuted he was the youngest in the history of the Premier”, Arteta pointed out at that time.