Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has selected 15-year-old midfielder Max Dowman to be in his Champions League squad for the upcoming league phase.
The Gunners started the season well in the Premier League, winning two of their opening three games, the only defeat being a close 1-0 loss to Liverpool after a superb Dominic Szobozslai free kick last weekend.
Most Read on Gooner News
However, Arsenal will soon be turning their attention to the Champions League, as Arteta’s side want to go one better and get to the final, after last year’s semi-final defeat to eventual Champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The league phase of the competitions starts on Tuesday 16 September, when the Gunners will make the trip to play Spanish side Athletic Bilbao. The rest of their fixtures include meetings with Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
Dowman selected over Lewis-Skelly by Arteta
Ahead of the new Champions League season starting, Arteta has selected his initial 23-player squad for the competition, and there is a big surprise. 15-year-old Max Dowman is included in Arteta’s squad, ahead of both Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, who both failed to make the initial list.
However, Arsenal fans shouldn’t be alarmed, as both Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri are expected to be registered for the Champions League when Arteta selects his squad list B, after the initial 23 on squad list A.
Dowman has seen a quick rise up the ranks at the Emirates, and looks in line to have a similar breakout year to both Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly as they did last year; the latter made the England squad for the first time in March. However, as the pair were 17 and 18 respectively, Dowman is just 15, which shows what an unbelievable talent the English midfielder is.
So far this season, Dowman has made two Premier League appearances from three possible games, coming off the bench on both occasions. If that is to continue, he could finish the season as a legitimate contender to start for Arteta each and every week.
Who also missed Arteta’s Champions League squad list?
Aside from Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, there were some other notable names absent from Arteta’s initial Champions League squad.
Striker Gabriel Jesus was one such name, with his Arsenal future very much in doubt due to his injury-ridden spell at the Emirates. He is still recovering from an ACL injury that he suffered in January, and could be out for the remainder of 2025, depending on his recovery.
Jesus will have made just 17 Premier League appearances in the last two seasons once he returns, a number which could force the striker to seek a move away in order to get more minutes, especially considering Arsenal now have Viktor Gyokeres up front.
Click here to see every deal that Arsenal completed in the summer transfer window.