On any regular evening, the main story would be that **Arsenal’s** heavily rotated eleven have cruised through past Ipswich into the fourth round of the **Carabao Cup**.
That was the case as the Premier League Champions won 4-2 at Portman Road against the Tractor Boys, but the big talking point was yet another excellent performance from the teenage superstar, Max Dowman.
After a breakout season in 2025/26, which saw him become the youngest-ever player to receive a Premier League winners' medal, Arsenal’s Hale End gem continued to raise his levels, becoming just the second player aged 16 to score a brace for a Premier League club in any competition; the other? A certain Wayne Rooney, who netted a brace for Everton in a 3-0 win over Wrexham in the Worthington Cup (the League Cup naming sponsor back then) in 2002.
Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino also found their first goals of the new season, and despite the Gunners leading 4-0, Anis Mehmeti and former Arsenal forward Chuba Akpom pulled a couple of late goals back to make it seem a respectable result from Gary O’Neil’s rotated side.
Two goals which highlight Dowman's incredible talents
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Dowman’s willingness to attack the game can be seen from his first goal alone, as he picked up the ball from Eberechi Eze midway in the Ipswich half before driving with the ball, and using both feet to keep the ball from defender Cédric Kipré, ending with a lovely reverse finish into the bottom left-hand corner.
The close control with his feet was becoming somewhat of a trademark move for the youngster, having performed something similar for his first Premier League goal against Everton back in March, using his dribbling to evade a tackle from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall before driving and tapping the ball into an empty net.
His second goal was just as wonderfully executed as his first, which started by picking up a loose ball and once again using his feet to evade pressure from Ipswich, before picking out Martín Zubimendi with the outside of his foot.
After a combination between Madueke and Zubimendi down the right, it was the Spaniard who poked the ball through for the youngster to curl into the bottom left corner.
(Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arteta reaffirms the need for caution over Dowman
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Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta spoke about the need to protect him.
_“He is 16 years old, and we have to be really cautious._
_"We don't want to stop him, we don't want to put the brakes on him, we need to develop him, and we are fully aware of what he needs. He will have opportunities."_
The message of being cautious is the most important lesson to take away with Max Dowman, because he has the capabilities to become an elite player, but because of his age, it’s important to not get carried away and play him significant minutes so early on.
Ipswich is the birthplace of English actor Ralph Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, but on Tuesday night, it was Dowman who performed his magic under the lights at Portman Road.