Saturday was very nearly the perfect day for Arsenal. They won their first home league game of the season by putting five goals past Leeds United. Two of them were scored by summer signing Viktor Gyokeres after another new addition Ebere Eze was unveiled before kick off. The only dampener were the injuries to Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.<\/p>\n
Max Dowman\u2019s Premier League debut was another reason Saturday\u2019s match at the Emirates Stadium will be remembered. The 15-year-old made an electrifying cameo off the bench, winning the penalty kick from which Gyokeres scored his second and Arsenal\u2019s fifth. Dowman certainly caught the eye.<\/p>\n
Anyone who watched Dowman during pre-season won\u2019t have been too surprised by Dowman\u2019s impact. The teenager similarly won a penalty with a dribble into the box in a friendly match against Newcastle United, drawing a mistimed tackle from Joelinton just as he did from Leeds\u2019 Anton Stach on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Dowman is a natural dribbler. He draws fouls and is already striking fear into Premier League defences with his willingness to drive forward with the ball at his feet. Arsenal\u2019s senior players clearly trust Dowman on the basis of how many times they fed possession into the 15-year-old against Leeds United.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, Dowman plays with the sort of authority that is extremely uncommon for a player of his tender age. He has a natural aura of someone who knows he belongs at the highest level of the English and European game. Dowman has the swagger of a young Wayne Rooney. Or Lamine Yamal.<\/p>\n
Comparisons between Dowman and Barcelona\u2019s young superstar. Yamal is a long way ahead of Arsenal\u2019s 15-year-old having led Barca and Spain to titles in La Liga and last year\u2019s European Championships, but Dowman has the potential to reach a similar level. The way he\u2019s going, the teenager will do it quickly too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is great to be able to change the energy in the stadium by bringing him in and he had an impact,\u201d said Mikel Arteta when asked about Dowman\u2019s impressive home debut which was one of the highlights of the 5-0 win over Leeds United. \u201c\u201cHe won a penalty on his debut at the Emirates. That’s incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s credit, first of all, to his family, the way these kids have been raised and the environment created. They are not overwhelmed by the environment and context.\u00a0And the work of the academy, for helping to raise these kids in that manner with the confidence and understanding of the game at just 15 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saka\u2019s injury might mean Dowman receives more game time over the coming weeks, but Arteta must be careful not to rush the teenager\u2019s development. Dowman is in a good place to grow as Arsenal have a squad that means they shouldn\u2019t have to count on the youngster too much. They can introduce him into the first team at his own pace.<\/p>\n
That pace, however, might be rather rapid if Dowman\u2019s impact on his Premier League debut is anything to go by. Yamal quickly made himself undroppable with his performances for club and country and Arsenal might have a youngster on a similar trajectory on their hands. They might have no choice but to play him.<\/p>\n
Dowman\u2019s emergence just adds to the growing sense that this could be Arsenal\u2019s season. They have new ways to score goals through the addition of Gyokeres and Eze to their squad. Arteta has moulded his squad in his own image and with the help of Arsenal\u2019s Hale End academy. After bringing through Myles Lewis-Skelly and Saka, Dowman could be the best of the bunch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saturday was very nearly the perfect day for Arsenal. They won their first home league game of the season by putting five goals past Leeds United. Two of them were scored by summer signing Viktor Gyokeres after another new addition Ebere Eze was unveiled before kick off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":54847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272],"class_list":["post-57584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome"],"yoast_head":"\n