Arsenal stars have been full of praise for youngster Max Dowman after he made a historic appearance for the Gunners in the Premier League win over Leeds United.
The youngster, aged just 15, came on in the second half after being named in a Premier League matchday squad for the first time.
Goals from Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, and Viktor Gyokeres helped put Arsenal in a commanding position to beat Leeds, leading 4-0 after just 56 minutes.
Beyond that point, it became the Max Dowman show, as the forward captured the attention of those at the Emirates Stadium.
Even in the dying moments of the game, there was still to be a telling contribution from the Arsenal academy star.
A quick twist and turn in the box saw him felled, winning a penalty for Gyokeres to smash home and seal a 5-0 win.
In what was a lively cameo from the youngster, with plenty of hope that there is more to come, Arsenal stars have shown their support after the game.
Arsenal stars show their support for Max Dowman after debut
Max Dowman’s debut gave a real taste of what could be to come for Arsenal in the future, though there is plenty of work still to be done.
There will be phases of school still to complete in his personal life, while the Gunners need to nurture him in the correct way to deal with the pressure in the future.
That’s all still to come, though, and there may be some encouragement he can take from Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly making their way through the team recently.
Having joined the list of Arsenal’s youngest-ever players in the number two spot, Dowman’s team-mates have shown plenty of support on social media.
Posting on Instagram, he said: “Premier League debut in front of all of you at the Emirates. A proud day for me and my family. This is just the beginning!”
Declan Rice was among the first to comment, stating: “We’re with you [heart emoji].”
The likes of Martin Odegaard, Reiss Nelson, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel Magalhaes and Ian Wright all simply commented heart emojis.
It shows the togetherness within the squad, as well as the support they have for a special young talent.
What is next for Max Dowman at Arsenal
While that was a nice introduction for Dowman to make his Premier League debut in, the hard work really starts now.
With the signing of Eberechi Eze, places in the squad may be tougher to come by this season, and may depend more on fitness within the squad.
That’s not to say the 15-year-old won’t have his opportunities still, not least with the early rounds of the Carabao Cup coming up.
However, the chances are that he won’t be continually thrown into these senior team scenarios just yet.
Taking Nwaneri as a prime example, he made his debut at 15, too, but it took another few seasons for him to really have a breakout campaign.
It may take some time for Dowman, but Arsenal need to be careful in nurturing him in the right way to feature regularly in the future.
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