When Mikel Arteta delivers Arsenal injury updates to the media, it is hard not to take the manager's words with a pinch of salt, largely because he almost always keeps his cards as close to his chest as possible.
So there would have been surprise among journalists when the Spaniard affirmatively ruled Bukayo Saka out of Sunday's top-of-the-table battle with Manchester City, rather than his standard cryptic response talking about another training session and "we'll see".
Arteta would be taking his Arteta-isms up to a new level if Saka was indeed passed fit for Sunday's game, which is not beyond the realm of possibility given his team news history; he said that the Englishman was "in contention" to face Man City in late 2023, only for him to miss out entirely.
However, if Saka does indeed take his place on the sidelines for Sunday's game, Arteta has four possible replacements for Gunners' Hale End starboy, including Noni Madueke, whom the Arsenal boss issued a positive update on following his midweek knee scare.
Alternatively, Arteta could play it safer with Gabriel Martinelli, trial Kai Havertz in a wide position, or hand 16-year-old Max Dowman his first Premier League start.
It must be the latter.
Why Max Dowman is Arsenal's top pick for Man City showdown
© Iconsport / Adam Gee/News Images/Sipa USA
With Saka stricken and Madueke picking up a knock to the knee in midweek, Arteta was inevitably quizzed about Dowman's potential inclusion in the starting lineup during his press conference, and the Arsenal coach issued a telling reply:
"He will be ready, I'm sure. You throw him in any context, this kid, you know what he's going to be delivering and he's shown that this season and in whatever games that we used him."
Breaking juvenile records for fun ever since he was a mere 14 years of age, Dowman is a player who fellow Arsenal players simply want to get the ball to. Admittedly, these stats are slightly skewed by the youngster's relative lack of minutes compared to Martinelli, Havertz and Madueke, but they paint a fascinating picture nonetheless.
The 2009-born sensation has taken 77.5 touches per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, by far the most out of the Dowman-Havertz-Madueke-Martinelli quartet; Madueke is second on the list with 55.
Context must of course be applied; Arteta has often thrown Dowman on in the final stages when Arsenal are chasing game, but his more senior colleagues have no inhibitions about passing the ball to the teenager, whose low centre of gravity, fearlessness and exemplary footwork makes him a full-back's nightmare.
Earning the trust of players 10 years his senior at such a tender age is an incredible achievement in itself, but Dowman has commanded the respect of his multi-million pound teammates, and indeed his ever-demanding head coach.
The attacker's first Premier League goal against Everton may have been a simple tap-in at face value, but to maintain unyielding composure at 16 years old - with close to 60,000 fans already celebrating - made his historic achievement all the more meritorious.
In a campaign where Madueke has been hit and miss, Havertz's fitness problems have reared their ugly heads and Martinelli has again failed to rediscover his 2022-23 self, Dowman has done more than enough to make his first Premier League start in the biggest Premier League game of the decade for Arsenal.
Is Mikel Arteta likely to start Max Dowman against Man City?
© Iconsport / Harvey Murphy/News Images/Alamy
Dowman deserves the chance to test himself against a Nico O'Reilly or a Rayan Ait-Nouri, but when the teamsheets are released at 3.15pm on Sunday afternoon, still expect to see his name among the substitutes.
Arteta has not hesitated to throw Dowman in from the first whistle in the EFL Cup or FA Cup, but he also left the teenager on the bench in the final loss to Man City in the former tournament - much to Gooners' chagrin.
Havertz, Martinelli and Madueke all failed to cut the mustard at Wembley that day, but the Germany international is a wild-card contender for the right-wing spot, and a more than viable one too.
Last season in particular, Havertz often drifted out to the right flank to combine with the likes of Saka, Martin Odegaard, Ben White or Jurrien Timber in Arsenal's build-up phases, and he would be the best match for O'Reilly from an aerial point of view.
Alternatively, if it is explosiveness and directness Arteta wants on the right-hand side, Madueke is the leading contender, even if the Englishman's end product could evidently still do with refining.
Rarely have the stakes been higher in a contest between the Gunners and the Sky Blues, so experience should prevail over youthful exuberance, but that is not to say Dowman cannot make an impact - potentially a title-winning impact - in another colossal second-half cameo.
Check out Sports Mole's video preview for Man City vs. Arsenal: