One of the most exciting things happening at Arsenal right now is the emergence of youth star Max Dowman. Mikel Arteta may be aiming for a historic season with the Gunners, but that hasn't stopped him from putting his faith in the 16-year-old.
This was no more evident than in the recent Premier League win against Everton. With Arsenal chasing a league title for the first time since 2004, and the scores level at 0-0, Dowman was brought on with just 16 minutes to play. In that time, the talented Englishman helped create the first goal before then making it 2-0 – becoming the competition's youngest-ever goalscorer along the way.
For many, it feels as if the Hale End teen is destined for a special career in North London. This sense will only be enhanced as it's now been revealed that Dowman has an iconic Arsenal relative.
Max Dowman Has Title-Winning Arsenal Family Member
max dowman
The report comes via Ed Aarons of The Guardian, who discovered that Dowman is a distant relative of George Male. While that name might not be familiar to modern football fans, the former defender had an iconic career for Arsenal – while he was also England captain from 1936 until the start of the Second World War.
Funnily enough, Dowman's family were not even aware of the famous family link. Indeed, Dave Male was on holiday in Spain when he decided to go and watch England Under-16s in a friendly against Italy. He recalled: "I was looking at the team sheet and that’s when the name Dowman hit me straight away."
Dowman was just 14 at the time, but shone as England claimed a 2-1 victory. Watching on from the sidelines, Male instantly recognised the name from his own family history. He explained:
“My grandmother was born Maria Maud Dowman and she was the mother of George Male, who captained Arsenal and England. So it turns out he is distantly related to Max through his great, great, great, great grandfather William Dowman."
Who Was George Male
Male had a pretty remarkable career for the Gunners. He has his own page on the club's official website, which states that he 'spent more than half of his life at Arsenal.' He joined in 1929 and didn't leave until May 1975, working as a youth coach and a scout after hanging up his boots.
He starred under iconic club manager Herbert Chapman, who converted him from left-half to right-back. Male became captain until the outbreak of World War Two. He was 29 when England went to war, serving with the RAF in Palestine, which disrupted his playing career.
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Despite this, in 1948, at the age of 36, he became the first player to win six English top-flight titles, enjoying all his success as an Arsenal player. In total, he played 318 matches for the Gunners, but incredibly never scored a single goal – in comparison, it took great, great, great, great-grandson Dowman just seven games to open his account for the club.
After retiring, Male became a long-serving youth-team coach and then later a scout at Arsenal. His contribution to the club did not stop there, though, as he was the man who discovered another club legend, Charlie George, who was part of the famous double-winning team of 1970-71. He finally left Arsenal in 1975 and died in 1998, at the age of 87.