Gary Lineker has expressed his admiration for Max Dowman, who is expected to feature for Arsenal during the upcoming season. The young attacker has been pushing for first-team involvement since the last campaign, although his age meant a debut was premature at the time. Now 15, he appears set to earn some minutes under Mikel Arteta as the club continues its preparations for the new season.
Dowman has emerged as one of the standout performers during Arsenal’s pre-season fixtures. His composure and confidence on the ball have drawn widespread praise, and he has shown signs that he is ready to contribute despite his youth. With Arsenal aiming to end their recent trophy drought, his impact could offer the squad additional attacking depth.
Dowman Makes His Mark in Pre-Season
The teenager’s recent displays have demonstrated a maturity well beyond his years. In Arsenal’s last two pre-season matches, Dowman’s performances have been so assured that his age would not be immediately apparent to those watching. His ability to read the game, beat defenders, and remain composed in front of goal has caught the eye of fans and pundits alike.
His development has been closely followed, and this season may mark the beginning of his gradual introduction into competitive fixtures. While Arsenal are expected to manage his minutes carefully, Dowman appears to be firmly in the club’s long-term plans.
Lineker Praises Teenager’s Talent
As cited by The Rest Is Football, Gary Lineker shared his thoughts on Dowman’s performances, stating, “But I’ll tell you who looks exciting, I mean, everyone is talking about this 15-year-old boy, Max Dowman. I mean, he’s been featuring in some of the friendlies, I saw him playing the game against your lot, Alan [Shearer], it was Newcastle, wasn’t it? I mean, boy, oh boy, he was doing some amazing stuff. He looks like a man already and he’s got so much talent. He beats people effortlessly and he can finish and he looks incredibly confident.”
Dowman is undoubtedly a remarkable talent, but Arsenal will need to ensure expectations are kept in check. With the right guidance and support, the youngster could become a key figure at the club in the years ahead.
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I’m sure if yamal is in arsenal he won’t av blown by now coz some fans and even d coach always seem to be Hooked by the negative side of things, it’s okay to be cautios about exposing these wiz kids but some of them don’t need to be controlled, they should be unleashed coz they are ready already .Max dowman I’d say he is ready as yamal was 2 seasons ago we he blow. Imagine arteta won’t even play nwaneri much last season even though we av thin squad that was plagued by injuries and terribles performances from likes of odegaard. Nwaneri is more talented than Lewis skelly and with cool mentality yet skelly has
Far more game time. Arteta’s operation in attack has been terrible first he will have a shit player like martinelli to occupy the Lwing, he keep signing not creative nor skillful midfielders, saying shity talks like nwaneri and downman are not ready whereas they are d only true creative ones in the team right now save for saka, I hope madueke comes through as well
Tea,
While I agree with you to a certain extent regarding giving playing time to these youngsters.
In Dowman’s case he’s only 15, and still developing physically. Don’t take that lightly, and we must also keep a little bit of history in mind. Jack Wilshire was going to be the next big thing, but as early as he got into the team. I personally believe that the early injury’s he picked up were in some way connected to playing him to much to early. And we never did see him develop into the player that his talent truly deserved.
Give Dowman some minutes by all means, but always keep in mind he’s still only 15 and developing physically, again don’t take that lightly.
Derek
Well said. Dowman is certainly a talent and a “prospect” of course but he’s still also only 15 – a mid-teens boy.
Yes, he did well in pre-season, but the “proper stuff”, the EPL and domestic cups are very different propositions. He’ll need to be introduced carefully into those, or he’ll find himself battered by the “big boys” because that’s the nature of those competitions. They don’t take prisoners, even 15-year-old ones.
Even by just a glance,you can tell that Lewis Skelly is far more physically developed than Ethan. We’ve seen MLS handle contact and body players bigger than him off the ball. By contrast, Ethan was at times last season pushed off the ball and dispossessed because of that physical limitation. Ethan must have recognized this did a lot of work over the holidays – currently he looks noticeably bigger and more physically robust than he was last season.
There’s also the aspect of stamina. MLS has no problem playing 90 minutes. On the other hand,lots of times last season we saw Ethan fizzle out around the 60 minute mark. There was a game he was gassed and developed cramps- all signs he still couldn’t play 90.
Playing in the men’s division isn’t just about talent or technical ability but also the physical ability(strength,pace,stamina,athleticism etc) One thing all players who started playing young (Bellingham,Rooney,Myles,Yamal etc ) have in common is that they already had the physical capacity to go with the talent. Often they are more physically developed than boys their age.
Agreed. One thing to keep in mind as well is that while some players mature physically (and mentally?) sooner than others, the reverse is also true and those same players may be passed by those who they were originally ahead of. I hope Dowman can continue to stay ahead of the curve for a long time.
You’re right BB about the variation in player development . Dowman is certainly well ahead of the curve physically.Last year,he became the youngest ever player to feature for the our under 21’s at 14 years and 336 days.
He’s already quite tall for his age and has no problem running with the ball at good pace against older players. I’d say he’s even more physically developed than Ethan was at that age. He’s more athletic than Ethan I think,that’s why he’s more comfortable out wide.
That said, under 21 is probably the best level for him now. He could be ready to make a proper jump to Men’s football in 12-18 months. Still , I can see him getting minutes against weaker opposition in the Cup competitions this season.
You often see cases where an unusually tall player for their age does not have the superior ball skills to go along with that advantage. In the few times which I’ve seen him play I noticed that Dowman had the height and yet still had the superior athletic ability and mobility. I agree that he should be with the under 21s at this point in time but be around the PL squad as much as possible just in case he remains a sensation ultimately into the first team.
We have to consider the fact that we saw the talented Dowman beat players in a friendly. This may not be the case in a competitive game. Challenges will be flying in and the lad needs to be protected until he’s physically ready. What’s the rush anyway? Don’t we have Ethan,Odegaard, and potentially Eze?
There’s a physical limit to what a young player can do. Ethan looked good when he first came into the team but faded away towards the end of the season- a sign that he had probably played more than needed. He was then managed carefully and didn’t play much which was the right thing to do.
Some have given the example of Yamal but there’s a caveat- he plays in La Liga which is not nearly as physical as the Prem.
I’d rather the lad be managed carefully like City did with Foden. In three years he’ll still be only 18 and could be ready to take over from our aging stars.