Mikel Arteta believes Max Dowman’s personality and courage on the pitch is unteachable – after the 15-year-old made history to become the youngest-ever Champions League player.
Dowman was introduced as a substitute in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League – becoming the first player of his age to play in Europe’s premier club competition at 15 years and 308 days old.
It came six days after he became Arsenal’s youngest-ever starter in a dazzling Carabao Cup display against Brighton.
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Watch the best bits of Dowman’s full debut for Arsenal against Brighton in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup
In the Czech Republic, Dowman immediately won a foul off a defender after his first touches of the ball and the Arsenal manager says age is just a number when it comes to the forward.
“What he’s done on the pitch – he comes in, the first ball he takes is he takes people on, he starts to dribble and gets a foul,” said Arteta.
“That’s personality, that’s courage – and you cannot teach that. You have it or you don’t.
Dowman is the Champions League’s first 15-year-old player
“And it doesn’t matter what his passport says. You throw him in this context and he is able to adapt and have a good performance.”
Next Up: Inside the rise of Dowman
“Ball-carrying has been his super strength all the way through,” former Arsenal academy coach Temisan Williams – now founder of Coach Accelerator Masterclass Community – told Sky Sports.
“I got to coach Max for the whole season when he was an U11s player and right from the get-go I was like: ‘Okay, there’s something very special about this young man’.”
Dowman is now the most talked-about teenager in Europe. He ticked off his first-team and then competitive debuts in a matter of weeks in August – now he is taking his game to the Champions League.
All this sparks the question: How far can he go? And how quickly?
“Champions League, World Cup, Premier League,” says Williams. “He’s got all the capabilities; he’s got the mentality. Mikel Arteta wouldn’t bring him into the fold at that age if he didn’t.”
There can be little doubt anymore – Max Dowman is Next Up.
Read more on Max Dowman’s development in the Arsenal academy here.