Arsenal under-18s head coach Adam Birchall has hailed a “fantastic performance” from Max Dowman after an impressive display against Leicester City.
The Young Gunners are approaching the final few weeks of the Premier League campaign, with plenty still up for grabs.
With six games left, a place at the top of the table is still up for grabs, with Arsenal helping their campaign goals by dismissing Leicester in their recent clash.
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A Max Dowman hat-trick helped the Hale End academy side win 5-3 on the road, backed up by goals from Brando Bailey-Joseph and Alex Marciniak.
While it was a team effort, Dowman got singled out by Adam Birchall for the effort and display he made.
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Max Dowman praised after Arsenal hat-trick against Leicester
Max Dowman has been tipped for a promising career, having already played well beyond his years in the academy ranks.
The attacking midfielder is aged just 15 years old, but has already featured several times in Arsenal senior team training.
While it remains to be seen when Dowman could make his under-21s step up on a permanent basis, he is certainly making a case for it to be soon.
With his latest hat-trick, head coach Adam Birchall was full of praise for the youngster and the display he put on.
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He told the official Arsenal website: “We’re all incredibly proud of him [Max Dowman].
“He’s currently playing under-18s football, but still has a lot of development ahead of him. It was a fantastic performance and a brilliant hat-trick.
“What really sums Max up is that he came off the pitch and was honest in the dressing room about areas we can improve as a team, as well as how he can develop individually.
“That level of humility and hunger to improve is a great sign in a young player – and that’s exactly what he showed today.”
It’s something Arsenal will certainly be hoping he can use to fire him towards the senior team in the years ahead.
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Young Arsenal academy stars are making the step up
One of the key things to note about plenty of the Arsenal academy lineups this season is that they have often featured many players who are playing above their age range.
Youngsters such as Marli Salmon, Will Sweet and Dowman are just a few to have done so as part of an extremely young group of players.
That was addressed by Birchall after the game as he added: “It’s always difficult to judge under-18s football, as the opposition can vary in terms of their squad composition.
“Today, aside from Cam [Ismail], we played with first-years and under-16s, with Max being an under-15.
“But what pleased me most was that first-half performance – the control we had, and the personality we showed without the ball. I’m a lot happier today than I was after the Fulham game.”
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