It is a moment that will go down in Arsenal folklore. As Mikel Arteta said: “For many years, we will remember that we were at the Emirates that night when that 16-year-old kid scored in such an important game when we were trying to win the title.”
Max Dowman surging up the pitch at the age of 16 to score in Arsenal’s win over Everton is a moment that has been watched time and time again. There was the touch of the head to get control of the ball, the left-footed touch and the physicality to get past Vitalli Mykolenko.
Then there was a right-footed touch to send Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to the shops. It looked like he had been doing that for years – and those who have worked with Dowman before recognise that all too well.
“It’s the fear he puts into the opposition, the fear of the people in front of him trying to mark him,” says Des Ryan to Sky Sports, who worked as Head of Sports Medicine and Athletic Development in Arsenal’s Academy and coached Dowman in Arsenal’s Under-11s.
“I’m not sure many people can mark him and that creates opportunity. He used to just be excited about attacking players with his pace, with his change direction, or game speed, as I call it.
“Having that game speed where you’re comfortable with the ball to change direction, accelerate, decelerate, then the opposition are second guessing him. They are worried, they are hesitant.
Dowman controlled the ball with his head and burst past Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko
Dowman broke clear from the defenders and tapped home
“And you could see that with the Everton defender. He had that fear in his eyes that I saw many times regarding Max.”
On its own, Dowman’s stunning cameo was a special Premier League moment. A 16-year-old coming off the bench, changing the game and becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in the competition’s history to spark jubilant scenes.
This is someone who is about to take their GCSEs this spring, a young boy who cannot even change with his Arsenal team-mates because, as he is under the age of 18, that would break safeguarding rules.
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Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher reflect on Max Dowman’s magical moment for Arsenal.
But throw in the context of this standout moment coming on that evening. The one where Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League, the one that took them that ever bit closer to a first Premier League in 22 years. It makes it a Hall of Fame moment.
“It felt like a defining moment in Arsenal’s modern history,” said Gary Neville. “I just felt it was a magical moment for Max Dowman, a magical moment for Arsenal and absolutely it stopped me in my tracks.
“That just will be the picture, the showcase moment, the video that gets played back when we go back at the end of the season into the Monday Night Football studio and we look back at the big moments of the season.”
It was a moment in time – but one years in the making. This does not feel like a flash in the pan moment, this is right up there with Wayne Rooney’s stunning goal for Everton against Arsenal in 2002. Right up there with David Beckham’s halfway line goal for Manchester United at Wimbledon.
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Speaking after Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton in the Premier League, where Max Dowman became the youngest scorer in the competition, Mikel Arteta suggested that his side are creating memories and moments that fans will remember forever.
“This kid does look different,” said Neville, reflecting on that magic moment. “The exceptional technique of the goal. He’s touched all parts of his body to score that goal while gliding forward and moving with the ball. It was an absolutely beautiful goal.”
A star of English football is coming.
Why Dowman has the right people around him
For all the skill, though, you need to have the right temperament to deliver on that stage, and at that age. And what is clear is that Dowman has the right people around him.
He was spotted at the age of four by Arsenal’s part-time academy scout Johnny Knight, who was still by his side when Dowman signed professional terms at the club.
And last summer, when speculation said Dowman was being approached by Chelsea, his father took to social media to say: “Arsenal are our club.” There is a solid Arsenal footing around the player.
“He looks like he has a composure and a temperament that is right,” said Neville. “It doesn’t look like he is going to get carried away by things.
“Right now it is about doing the same things that have got him into the position that he is in. Having sensible people around him, good accountant, good lawyer, good advice from his parents.”
Dowman’s manager agrees. “He doesn’t seem to be fazed by the occasion or the moment or the context or the opponent,” said Arteta after the Everton game. “He just plays so naturally.”
Again, that was seen in Dowman’s academy days. Dowman is the latest product of the ‘Strong Young Gunners’ philosophy, led by outgoing academy director Per Mertesacker.
Per Mertesacker has brought through several young Arsenal players through the academy
The ‘Strong Young Gunners’ programme was made up of four key skills that young players need to follow: Champion mentality, Lifelong learner, Effective team player and Effective mover.
Anyone in the Arsenal academy recognises that Dowman has all those four attributes in bucket loads.
“He’d be interacting with all the squad members,” says Ryan about how Dowman fit in at Arsenal. “He would be mannerly, polite and courteous and he’d be there early regularly.
“He’d be thoughtful, inquisitive and always asking questions. What are we doing? And in some instance, why are we doing it? But he’s not too loud, not over-talkative.”
And that temperament has only gone up since then. It is no secret that Declan Rice has been installed as Dowman’s mentor in the Arsenal training ground. The England international is a resource for the young midfielder when it comes to advice.
“He FaceTimed me the other day and he had his school uniform on,” said Rice earlier in the season about Dowman.
“I was like: ‘mate, you’ve just played in the Premier League a week ago, and then you’re walking back through the school gate’. I’ve never seen a 15-year-old so comfortable around the first-team.”
Can Dowman follow in famous footsteps?
If you take a look at the list of the top 10 youngest ever Premier League goalscorers, you see a mixed list of players.
You have Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, Michael Owen and James Milner, players who had exceptional careers for club and country.
But there are also players who fell through the trapdoor of promise. James Vaughan and Andy Turner didn’t hit the same heights, while Federico Macheda scored a similar title-winning goal for Manchester United against Aston Villa in 2008 – and was hardly seen again.
“I have seen this before and I have seen it where it works and where it doesn’t work, where it doesn’t follow up into something that would be really spectacular,” said Neville, who was part of that United team.
And it is key that Arsenal monitor Dowman’s years to come. Jack Wilshere came through at Arsenal at 16 and was played so much that he retired at 30 due to injury, and actually coached Dowman in the Gunners’ Under-18s team a few years ago.
Other examples such as Gavi and Pedri at Barcelona show how playing these players too much can lead to long-term injuries.
Even Ethan Nwaneri is a good recent example. Twelve months ago, all the talk was about the 17-year-old being the future of Arsenal, but fast forward a year and Nwaneri has struggled for minutes. He was sent out on loan to Marseille, where he’s not faring much better.
Now Dowman has replaced Nwaneri as the darling of the Arsenal academy. Could such a drop happen in the coming years? For some reason, it feels unlikely with Dowman.
“In two years he’ll be 18,” says Ryan. “Young people still have windows to develop and he’s still got those.
“And it’s just scary to think how good he could be from a physical sense. He’ll be looked after properly, he’ll progress even more.
“And then athletes reached their peak, mid 20s to late 20s. So there’s so much more to come and it’ll be exciting to watch. The potential is huge going forward.”
