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Words by Sam Blitz | Imagery by Ben Scott In Singapore, Arsenal had a young Englishman flying down the right wing against Newcastle. His fearlessness changed the game and provided the winning moment of the match. The defenders could not deal with him. It wasn’t Bukayo Saka. It wasn’t young starlet Ethan Nwaneri either. Stepping up for Arsenal was 15-year-old Max Dowman. The teenager entered the pitch at the hour mark and within seconds skipped away from Joelinton – who is nearly twice the teenager’s age – to draw a free-kick. And that was just the start. Two more mazy runs would come, drawing one save each from Newcastle goalkeepers Nick Pope and John Ruddy. A big moment was coming – and it arrived in the final 10 minutes. Another slalom burst forward saw Dowman enter the box and Joelinton was forced to foul him. It gained Arsenal a penalty, scored by Martin Odegaard – who then pushed Dowman towards the supporters to gain the acclaim he deserved. “Ball-carrying has been his super strength all the way through, ” says former Arsenal academy coach Temisan Williams – now founder of Coach Accelerator Masterclass Community – to Sky Sports. “I got to coach Max for the whole season when he was an U11s player and right from the get-go I was like: ‘Okay, there's something very special about this young man. ’” Having already impressed in a briefer cameo during the 1-0 win over AC Milan, Dowman is making waves for Arsenal in pre-season action. But his competitive bow is surely on the way this season – which will then spark the question: How far can he go? “Champions League, World Cup, Premier League, ” says Williams. “He’s got all the capabilities; he’s got the mentality. Mikel Arteta wouldn’t bring him into the fold at that age if he didn’t. ” There can be little doubt anymore – Max Dowman is Next Up. Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager Declan Rice, Arsenal midfielder "He hasn't even started his GCSEs yet" Jack Wilshere, former Arsenal U18s head coach, speaking last season Dowman’s cameos in Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia have elevated the noise around the teenager – but those who have followed the Gunners’ academy sides over the last few years have placed him in a spotlight for some time. Playing first-team football at 15 is just the latest milestone he has achieved. The midfielder first gained acclaim when he made his Arsenal U18s debut at just 13 years old. He was still a year or two away from finishing primary school when he first appeared for Arsenal’s U14s side. Even last season, Dowman was a regular in first-team training for Arsenal but Premier League and Champions League rules prevent players in the U15 age group or younger from competing. It seems a dramatic process but under academy manager Per Mertesacker, the rise has been closely monitored. “He’s played at the highest level and was always so brilliant at making sure that players weren't overexposed, and that the challenge was right for them, ” Williams says. Yet it is one thing being promoted to a higher age group – it is a whole other achievement excelling in the way Dowman has done. A big part of his game is his dribbling ability – with the 15-year-old unfazed by his opponents, as seen in his first-team performances against Milan and Newcastle. It a skill deriving from his natural physique. “For Max, he was always one of the taller players in the age group - and that meant when he played higher up, he could cope physically, ” says Williams. “He was also very smart with the use of his body and uses his hands to protect the ball when dribbling. ” Not to say there wasn’t some fine-tuning needed, with Williams helping to develop a key part of Dowman’s game. “He’s very dominant with his left foot, ” the former Arsenal academy coach recalls. “We can see that's what's really taken him forward to be within the first team now. “But I was trying to help him around his body shape,  because at times he would try to receive on his left, but his body shape would be off balance, when he could have just received the ball on his right. “And the opposition could easily come and take him out and potentially he could get injured, especially when he started playing up the age groups. “He needed to be able to develop these skills of receiving off his right foot. The more he was able to receive off his right foot, the more he could then manoeuvre the ball as best as possible, manage the ball better and be more dangerous on the pitch. ” Over the last five years, Arsenal’s track record of promoting youngsters through has been particularly impressive. Bukayo Saka is now a household name after emerging alongside Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah, who generated £60m last summer for Arsenal in the transfer window. They were then replaced by the double-act of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who also came into the first team as a double act last season. Now it looks like Dowman is part of a new generation - with fellow 15-year-old Marli Salmon and 17-year-old striker Andre Harriman-Annous part of Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia. As part of the criteria to spot which academy gems are capable of making it into the first team, one phrase seems to come out more than most: champion mentality. It is the term former Arsenal scout Brian Stapleton used most to describe Saka's rise through the ranks. And Dowman? “He has champion mentality in bucket loads, ” says Williams. “It's not just about wanting to win on the pitch. It’s about: 'I want the next challenge. When is this next challenge coming? ' And Max always wanted a challenge, no matter what. “Whenever you say: ‘Okay Max, this is what we're going to do today,  or maybe you'd play here today, or what do you think about actually training two age groups up? ' He would say: ‘Yeah, sure. ’ “He’d never blink an eyelid. He was always ready to go and that was something that was very clear and was consistent throughout. ” Another criteria Arsenal use is whether they are an effective team player. Again, it is another box Dowman ticks. “He was a brilliant team-mate, ” Williams recalls. “I always look at when things are going wrong in development football – when things aren't coming off for players and they're maybe frustrated, losing, all that type of stuff. “I’d look at Max’s reaction, he would always be encouraging his team-mates. You'd never see him dig out a player in a very rash way or complain at players. “I'm sure if you asked anyone who's trained and played with him through the academy,  they'd probably echo the same sentiments. ” It is that humility that draws more comparisons with Saka, who is often regarded as a brilliant and ruthless player on the pitch – but equally a polite and well-mannered individual away from the action. Williams recalls: “When I left Arsenal, Max was one of the few players who personally said to me: 'Thank you for everything you've done for me, how you've helped me, what I've learned from you and I wish you all the best. ' “I always remember this – and these behaviours are recognised by coaches in players. “He was just a very measured young man, definitely mature beyond his years,  even when you were talking with him one-on-one. “Whenever you're talking to him, he’d look into your eyes and he’d really want to understand. What is it that you want me to know, what is it you want me to do, how are you going to help me, how is this going to help my development? ” Rather than Saka, a closer comparison to Dowman is Nwaneri, who himself made his Arsenal senior debut at 15 three years ago – albeit in a competitive, Premier League scenario. The two share similarities in terms of their profiles. Just like Nwaneri, Dowman starred for Arsenal’s youth sides in central areas – namely attacking midfield – but his first major outings in the first team came out on the right wing. “Of course, it's unfair in terms of the comparison, especially at this age anyway, ” says Williams. “But if we want to look at trajectories, they have been similar. They've taken similar journeys. ” There are some differences, though. “Ethan has played the majority of his game in the attacking third of the pitch, whether at No 10 in the pocket or as we've seen, Arteta's deployed him off the right most of the time, ” adds Williams. “Max? He just wanted to be on the pitch. “He would play as the No 10, or the No 9, but would sometimes play as our No 6 to go and receive the ball deeper. When the centre-backs had the ball, Max was there going to receive and then driving forward.   “He even sometimes played centre-back. It's important that you get a plethora of position perspectives in relation when you're going through your developmental years,  because it just helps you to see the game requirements in a more rounded way as you're growing older and you start to specialise more. ” And Dowman’s best position? “If you had to pin me down, I would probably say as a No 8, ” says the former Gunners academy coach. “His strength is his ball-carrying skills,  especially centrally. And I think the No 8 position is where you'll see the best of Max. ” As Dowman shone against Newcastle in Singapore, one phrase was trending on social media. “He’s 15. ” It is not just praise for his talent at such a young age – but a reminder of how much developing the talented teenager has to go. “He's still a young man, not yet 16, ” says Williams. “There's always going to be growth – that's going to happen, and it's about managing that. “And under Arteta, under Mertesacker and of course the coaches and strength and conditioning staff, I know they’re making sure there is a watertight programme to make sure his body is managed accordingly. ” Again, Nwaneri is the example for Dowman to follow. It has not gone unnoticed that the 18-year-old has come back this summer with a bigger and stronger physical frame, which has resulted in more standout moments in pre-season. “Looking at Ethan, he’s built out more and is more prepared for the Premier League physically, ” says Williams. “I think it would definitely be the same thing for Max. “Max’s dad is quite tall, so he knows he could end up being 6ft 2in or 6ft 3in. It looks like there’s still a bit more growing there for him to do. ” It's fair to say the 15-year-old has grown up a bit over the past few years. As an U16s player this season, he is now permitted to play in the Premier League and cup competitions - though has to wait until he turns 16 in December to play in the Champions League. But if Nwaneri’s rise is anything to go by, Dowman may have to prove his worth at another level before becoming a first-team regular. When Nwaneri made his debut as a 15-year-old, he spent two years as a regular in Arsenal’s U21s – before breaking into the first team last term. “It's just managing his minutes accordingly, ” says Williams of Dowman. “He’s going to be playing with the U21s this season. “And of course, that will mean it's not as intense as what you'd get in the Premier League. So it's easier to then manage his development. ” What Arsenal may struggle to manage, however, is the hype. This is one of the biggest academy talents to have come out of their academy.

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