Jack Wilshere has been speaking about Max Dowman after the Arsenal starlet made his Champions League debut.
Dowman made Champions League history by becoming the youngest player ever to feature in the tournament.
At 15 years and 308 days old, the future is so bright for the Arsenal academy product, who is already being trusted by Mikel Arteta on the biggest stage.
Dowman is well supported at Arsenal, where he wants to flourish amid building interest in his talent, with some members of the squad showing how much of a positive influence they could have on the teenager’s career.
Jack Wilshere says why Declan Rice is the perfect mentor for Max Dowman
Wilshere was the latest to comment on Dowman, where he nominated Declan Rice as being the perfect player to support the schoolboy on his road to regular senior football.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wilshere admitted that he can’t see a better role model for Dowman than someone of Rice’s quality on and off the pitch.
“I can’t think of anyone who influences a game the way he does,” Wilshere said of Rice.
“His super strength is his physicality and his ability to get around the pitch.”
The former Arsenal midfielder then drew attention to Rice’s leadership qualities, singling him out as a player who could be of huge inspiration to young Dowman.
“His character and the way he behaves at the training ground, people look up to him. Think about Max Dowman coming through, what better role model for him?”
Dowman loves Rice, and vice versa, with the two Englishmen close in the Arsenal squad.
The teenager, who is 11 years Rice’s junior, will undoubtedly aspire to follow in the former West Ham captain’s footsteps, being a model professional for both club and country.
Dowman is years ahead of Rice when he broke through at West Ham
In a generation that saw 18-year-old Lamine Yamal finish second in the Ballon d’Or, it’s becoming more and more common to see youngsters breaking through at a schoolboy age.
It’s no surprise that Wilshere sees Rice as the ideal mentor for Dowman right now, given that the Englishman broke through as a teen at West Ham.
That being said, Rice was three years older than Dowman when he made his debut for West Ham’s first team, being 18 years and four months old when Slaven Bilic awarded him minutes in 2017.
The age of breakthroughs seems to be decreasing, with Dowman’s 15-year-old talent taking the world by storm right now.
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