Max Dowman became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history as his inspired cameo propelled Arsenal to a potentially pivotal 2-0 win over Everton.
The 16-year-old came off the bench and played a crucial role in Viktor Gyokeres’ 89th-minute goal before scoring with the final kick of the game to seal victory and send Arsenal, at least temporarily, 10 points clear of Manchester City.
Everton were without James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite in defence, but went agonisingly close on several occasions, with Dwight McNeil forcing a remarkable block out of Riccardo Calafiori before hitting the post.
David Raya was then called into action early in the second half as his stretched leg managed to keep out Beto’s shot after the Gunners failed to clear a corner.
At the other end, Eberechi Eze curled just wide of the post as Arsenal piled on the pressure, which eventually told in the dying minutes.
Pickford failed to punch a cross from Dowman, which Piero Hincapie deflected into the path of Gyokeres for a simple tap-in.
The Everton goalkeeper then went up for a corner in the hopes of scoring an equaliser, but Arsenal got out and Dowman skipped past two challenges before scoring into an empty net.
16 – At 16 years and 73 days, Max Dowman has become the youngest scorer in Premier League history. Future. pic.twitter.com/71VkKePZkU
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 14, 2026
Data Debrief: Dowman writes his name into the history books
At 16 years and 73 days, Dowman has become the youngest scorer in Premier League history.
Dowman’s goal means there has now been a Premier League goalscorer born in every year of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
After his introduction in the 74th minute, Dowman created two chances, attempted the most dribbles in the match (five), completed 12 of his 13 passes and won four of his eight duels.
The expected goals (xG) tally perhaps does not tell the story of the match, with Arsenal’s two close-range strikes inflating their total to 2.59 from 25 attempts compared to Everton’s 1.05 from nine shots.