Arsenal FC comfortably progressed to the next round of the League Cup on Tuesday evening. Max Dowman, the Gunners’ top young talent aged just 16, put in a stellar performance in the 4–2 victory.
Cup competitions offer managers in England the chance to rotate their squads amidst a packed fixture list. And so, at Portman Road on Tuesday evening, the 16-year-old Dowman was named in Arsenal’s starting line-up for the first time this season. For the top prospect, it was his very first competitive appearance of the season.
But why wasn’t the young high-flyer even given a substitute appearance at the start of the new season? Mikel Arteta was asked this question ahead of the match. The Arsenal manager responded by saying: “He’ll get his chance, but he has to earn it just like everyone else.”
What Dowman conjured up on the pitch shortly afterwards delighted more than just Arteta. Against Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town, who had invested heavily this summer transfer window, Dowman opened the scoring as early as the seventh minute, becoming the second-youngest goalscorer in the competition’s history.
With the score at 2–0 – Madueke had also scored – Dowman got off to a flying start in the second half and even bagged a brace. This made him only the second 16-year-old to score twice for a Premier League club in a domestic competition. Previously, only a certain Wayne Rooney had managed this feat for Everton against Wrexham in 2002 – also in the League Cup.
“He was incredible once again,” Arteta gushed afterwards: “Some of the moves and combinations he can produce on the pitch are simply a joy to watch. He was also really efficient this time and is becoming increasingly active in his play.”
Arteta also praises Dowman’s fitness
Dowman has also improved in terms of match fitness and can now “keep going for longer periods”. Arteta added: “We know what talent we have there.” The fans at Portman Road saw this for themselves in the 58th minute, when Dowman picked up his third goal contribution and set up Merino’s decisive goal.
The goals from Mehmeti and Akpom for the home side were merely consolation goals that did little to detract from the performance of this top talent in particular. It is quite possible that Dowman will soon be getting more playing time in the Premier League as well, where he became the youngest goalscorer in history back in March.
