Within an hour of Max Dowman becoming the youngest scorer in the history of the Premiership, comparisons were being made to Messi, Ronaldo and Yamal; some Gooners were adamant he should now start on Tuesday, and Sky Sports were reminding us that a teenager called Theo Walcott was taken to a World Cup.
All of that chatter is the biggest obstacle to our 16-year-old. It’s why Mikel Arteta will not be starting him midweek. Because as much as a manager’s job is getting results, part of the role is developing talent and protecting the future.
The Hype and the Risk
For every iconic moment like Saturday, the more vulnerable the 16-year-old becomes.
Suddenly more people want to be your friends, your social media numbers will increase, sponsors and advertisers will be on the phone to your parents, and once you’re starting for the Gunners, the same media will build you up only so they have someone to knock down when, naturally, as part of his development, his form dips.
It’s the kind of outside noise Arsenal will be trying to block out for the youngster. They will keep him away from interviews; staff will watch his training to make sure his attitude does not change. The likes of Rice and Saka will be asked to put a protective blanket around him; the moment any ego grows will be monitored.
An employer, though, cannot stay at home with him or track who he talks with or dictate his social life.
Protecting Talent and Learning from the Past
Let’s learn from Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Maitland-Niles, Smith Rowe, etc.
Go and see where they now play or if they even start regularly.
If you were playing in England’s highest division before you left school, then your technique is not in doubt. It’s the mentality that makes him stand out. To come off the bench when a team needs a goal in the pressure of a title race requires composure that senior professionals would have shied away from.
Do not misunderstand; I’m sceptical about pushing Dowman too much not because I doubt his talent but because I believe in it so much.
Let’s protect it.
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Talent for the future definitely ,just hope he gets rid of the diving ,not a good look on any player .
Well blow me down with a feather Dan!!
I never would have thought our club needed to protect ANY of our players, I’m truly amazed at your insight!!
Seriously though, our history has some good examples of not protecting our players and here’s a list that I can remember off the top of my head :
Peter Marinello, David Price, Jon Samells, early Tony Adams and, of course those listed by Dan in his article.
The perceived sarcasm in my first paragraph, was actually to point out that, what seems a logical thing to do, sometimes doesn’t happen and Dan is quite right in what he says…. the fans must also play a big part in this and not expect this young prodigy to be selected in every game and then question MA for not doing so.
Good article Dan 👍
yeah already heard he should go the the World Cup lol
loos special though
That didn’t work out too well for Walcott, so, lesson hopefully learned.
that’s the only negative isn’t it
for every outrageous moment he will be compared to a young Messi , Lemal ,.etc
we need to let him breath
Yep,🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
I think Max is being handled correctly for a lad of his exceptional profile. He’s in most match day squads, when fit, but is not overplayed, and as you say, the club has no control over his life away from the game, which I’m sure is well looked after by his parents and reps.
Jax, I agree that he shouldn’t be overplayed. His body is still growing and any serious injury, like a hamstring injury, may well hamper his progress.
Agree that he should be played with consideration. Premier League football is extremely physical and regardless of his technique and talent, his body just won’t be up to starting games on a regular basis. We saw last year what happened to Nwaneri’s battery after a few games, just for one example.
I’ve also noticed that opponents tend to give him much more breathing room than adult players, not going in for hard tackles, for example. He’s just come off a few months of injury – the last thing his development needs right now is another spell on the sidelines for several months so taking it slowly and carefully is clearly the right way to do it.
My biggest fear as it relates to the Kid, is with cemetery of talents circling.
It is reported the Bernabeu giant have already collected enough information and like what they see.
The fact Arsenal did not allowed the kid to do an interview after his man of the match performance, highlight the extent the club is going to protect the kid.
youngsters do better at Real Madrid
Why do you think that Dan?
in general you will win more at Real Madrid.
Look at the players in their history form their academy or who they sign young who have won things
That’s not an attack on Arsenal just think it’s odd to label Real Madrid commentary of talents when their famous for their academy or signing players young
Max’s family are all massive fans of the club and have made it clear they are happy with the way MA etc are handling this young man.
It’s all the noise from outside (including us!!) that will cause the problems in my opinion.
Surely we have learnt how to handle situations like this and an example of what concerns me, is that of Skelly.
He has not been selected on a regular basis and, both the media and certain fans are questioning this, saying a move is the only solution.
What rot!!
Like Nwaneri and Saliba before him, this club now knows what it is doing (?!) and MA is building for the future as well as the present.
Absolutely Ken. The club is handling him perfectly reasonably right now. Not every 16-year-old hyper talented player is also physically as ready as Yamal… and this is the Premier League on top of that. Some people can’t handle delayed gratification!
I think Arsenal as an institution is well equipped to handle his development and off the pitch stuff, but the rest will depend on him as a player and how Arteta helps develop him on the field.
For me Arteta hasn’t shown that quality as a coach to nurture academy graduates and help them transition to the 1st team successfully. Arteta is also still developing as a coach, I hope he gets this one right.
Of course I agree with the article – beyond hype and mentality, though (which I agree is crucial), I do think it’s important to remember the physical side of it. At 16 he’s still growing and too much too soon can affect how he develops. In our not-so-recent anymore history, I’ve felt that Walcott, Ramsey (maybe a different case), Oxlade Chamberlain, Bellerin and others may have been negatively effected by this. Possibly Saka as well – not sure. And it’s worth noting that injuries affect mentality as well – off the pitch it can make it harder to stay motivated over prolonged periods and it can make players tentative on the pitch.
Conversely, fabregas, cole, Clichy, Saliba and some others were able to deal with playing often from a young age, so it really depends on the player, but why take the risk when the player can be eased into the first team gradually?
He’s a big talent of that there’s no doubt. But we must remember he’s still developing physically, and therefore needs looking after as the piece says.
I think if Arsenal went down a similar route that Manchester United did with a young Ryan Giggs, that wouldn’t be a bad idea in my opinion.
In his early days you never see him interviewed, and he was protected from the glare of the media to a large extent. Although with social media these days, it may not be so easy.
But from the outside looking in, and if you can believe what you hear from his manager and team mates alike, he seems to have a mature head on his shoulders.