Arsenal’s Max Dowman impressed manager Mikel Arteta as he became the club’s youngest starter at just 15 years and 302 days in Wednesday’s 2-0 League Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion, earning the coach’s praise for his impact in the game.
Dowman, who has been at the club since 2015, made his senior debut off the bench earlier this season, before breaking Jack Porter’s record for being the youngest starter.
Goalkeeper Porter started in the League Cup last year when he was 16 years and 72 days old.
Right-winger Dowman made the most dribbles and won the most fouls and duels as Arsenal registered their eighth straight victory in all competitions.
“A tiny smile, that’s what you get with him,” Arteta told reporters, asked how Dowman reacted to being picked in the starting line-up.
“For him, everything is natural, for him, everything is OK. It’s the way he plays and that’s the secret, that he doesn’t make a big fuss of it.
“He just does what he does best, which is to play football. To play football with a lot of courage and determination and today again, he has shown some incredible skill, some capacity to run past players at that level in the Premier League at 15. It’s definitely something special.”
Forward Andre Harriman-Annous, 17, also made his full debut as Arteta made 10 changes in the starting line-up from Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace.
“That feeling of giving the opportunity to somebody and fulfilling a dream is unique, and I’m very happy that things turned out to be very positive,” Arteta added.
League leaders Arsenal visit Burnley on Saturday.
