Mikel Arteta has to utilise one player if Arsenal are to become a greater force next season
Arsenal have a not-so-secret weapon ready for next season and his name is Max Dowman.
Amid all the pressure and anxiety surrounding this season’s gruelling Premier League title race, the Hale End prodigy has remained a consistent source of positivity. Dowman, who only celebrated his 16th birthday on New Year’s Eve, has been a familiar name for Arsenal fans for several years, having made himself impossible to ignore during his rise through the club’s academy.
His precocious talent was already clear to see early on as montages emerged on social media of him gliding past defenders several years older. And so there was undeniable excitement when he was called up to first team training by Mikel Arteta at the mere age of 14.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
There was further fanfare when Dowman was included in Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia aged 15 last summer, where he left the Gunners faithful in awe, standing out as one of the team’s most dangerous forwards. Dowman has carefully been integrated into competitive fixtures since.
Who can forget the youngster’s Premier League debut against Leeds United back in August? Or when he became the youngest Champions League player in history, featuring against Slavia Prague aged 15 years and 308 days?
But more impressive than these brilliant yet ultimately unimportant milestones was Dowman’s seismic impact on the pitch since the new year, following his return from an ankle injury. The teenager showcased his ability to consistently beat fullbacks and displayed rare composure for his age against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup, putting some of Arsenal’s veteran forwards to shame.
That showed Arteta he could be trusted in high pressure moments, leading to his unforgettable introduction against Everton in last month’s nervy Premier League clash. In just 16 minutes on the field, Dowman set up the opener and embarrassed Everton’s defenders on his way to becoming the league’s youngest ever goal-scorer, sending the Emirates into raptures and boosting Arsenal’s chances of securing the title.
That was just a glimpse of what Dowman can offer Arteta next season. Having had a year to adjust to the demands of professional men’s football, Dowman, aged 17, is set to take the entire league by storm.
His trajectory can conceivably follow another generational wonderkid’s – Lamine Yamal – who, after breaking through at Barcelona aged 16, reached new heights the following year by becoming the undoubted talisman for club and country.
Dowman has already shown he is ready for such a step. All that there’s left after the summer break is for him to receive more playing time, having made 11 appearances in all competitions this season. His sheer talent, as the world’s greatest player in his age group, demands a regular place in the starting XI next season.
He is already proving to be a more reliable back-up option to Bukayo Saka on the right wing than £48million Noni Madueke, suggesting he will rotate with the Gunners vice-captain on that flank whenever Saka needs a rest.
But the teenager is far more devastating when given free rein to drift inside, tormenting the opposition with his ball-carrying ability and dribbling in tight spaces. We can expect him to bulk up over the summer and become even more confident against top level opposition, meaning he could even replace skipper Martin Odegaard in the right attacking-midfield position or Eberechi Eze as the lone central playmaker long-term.
The only notable flaw in his game at the moment appears to be his off-the-ball tracking, which he must improve before Arteta allows him to play a greater role in key games. There is nothing to suggest he can’t learn this from Odegaard, however, with the Gunners captain being well aware of the pressures that come with being labelled a wonderkid.
Dowman also has the right manager at the helm to temper expectations and keep him grounded while he rips apart defences domestically and in Europe next season.
Arsenal will no doubt be pushing on all four fronts again when the 2026/27 season kicks off, desperate to lift silverware. They would be fools not to harness the power of arguably the greatest teenage talent seen in English football since Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas, all of whom played crucial roles in title chases.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
