Max Dowman of Arsenal passes the ball against William Osula of Newcastle United during the Pre-Season Friendly between Arsenal FC and Newcastle United at the National Stadium on July 27, 2025 in Singapore.placeholder image
Max Dowman of Arsenal passes the ball against William Osula of Newcastle United during the Pre-Season Friendly between Arsenal FC and Newcastle United at the National Stadium on July 27, 2025 in Singapore. | Getty Images
Max Dowman caught the eye in the summer and the Arsenal prodigy has been earning praise from another Premier League side’s academy chief.
Arsenal have performed almost serenely since the start of the season with David Raya rarely having to pick the ball out the back of his net in the process.
Mikel Arteta had already built a well-balanced squad before the summer recruits added the sort of depth that has been the difference between winning and losing the Premier League title in recent seasons. What the Gunners boss has also done at the same time is introduce several academy players into the first team to bolster his options.
Max Dowman shows maturity needed to be Arsenal success
Against Slavia Prague two academy graduates started before three more came off the bench. This is how an effective player trading model works and how financial fair play regulations can be circumnavigated. It was Max Dowman who made the headlines once again though with the 15-year old earning praise from Slavia’s manager and also a glowing reference from their captain.
Someone else who has been impressed with Dowman is Fulham’s head of football development, Huw Jennings, who, speaking on the More Than The Score podcast said: “On Max Dowman, he played against us in the Youth Cup, which is the primary cup competition for youth football in the country. But it wasn’t just his ability on the ball, which was top level, it was also his maturity and understanding of how to control a game.
“He displayed a level of maturity when he was almost definitely the youngest player on the pitch, to control the game,” added Jennings. “It’s one thing to be the top talent, but it’s another thing to be a player who shows a level of maturity to control the game, and some players are mature emotionally beyond their years as well.
“Of course, the challenge sometimes comes when, if you look 10 years down the track, can they actually cope with the demands physically and perhaps psychologically when maybe the game isn’t quite as easy as it was when they were 15?”
Why Arteta needs to be careful with Dowman
Dowman is hugely talented and, if you are good enough, you are old enough, but Jennings is right. Being able to control a game at youth level is entirely different to controlling one at senior level, especially given the level that Arsenal play at.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to player development and Arteta has managed the gradual introduction and expectation surrounding the young attacker brilliantly. There is no rush or desperation to see him in the starting XI every week.
There is a physical need to look after Dowman over the next few years too until his body is ready to face the demands of playing against opposition players like Dan Burn. It is highly unlikely that he will be facing full-backs or centre-halves who are over 6ft 6inches tall and around 16 stone.
Being around the Arsenal first team and training with players who he will soon be playing with on a regular basis could be so much more beneficial than going out on loan. There is no doubting his talent, how it is nurtured is going to be a fascinating watch.
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