Arsenal have endured a slightly turbulent pre-season, although a few players have stood out for Mikel Arteta’s team.
The Gunners won their first two games against AC Milan and Newcastle in Singapore, before suffering a disappointing defeat at the hands of Tottenham in Hong Kong.
Villarreal beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates on Wednesday, piling the pressure on the North Londoners in their final game against Athletic Club, before the Premier League kicks off.
While pre-season may not ultimately matter, carrying three negative results into the new campaign would not be ideal for the mood music around N5.
Martin Zubimendi has earned plaudits for his performances, while Christian Norgaard has also been praised for how he’s settled in.
However, one player has certainly shone more than any other.
Arsenal want to ‘dampen’ the hype around Max Dowman
Max Dowman has impressed during Arsenal’s pre-season, amazing fans and the media with his eye-catching performances off the bench.
Demonstrating ridiculous technical quality and composure for a player of his age, the 15-year-old has put himself in a good position to be at least somewhat involved in the Gunners’ first team next season.
Dowman has been described as ‘astonishing’, while already earning comparisons to Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi.
Noise like this around a young player is not always conducive to an environment which will allow him to develop, and Arsenal are reportedly wary of this.
Speaking on the Back Pages podcast, journalist Jack Rosser revealed that the Gunners ‘probably want to dampen’ reports around the starlet.
“Yeah, there’s so much excitement around him, isn’t there?” he said.
“I think even throughout the tour, I think people at Arsenal are probably quite keen to dampen it down.
“Obviously, you said, you know, he’s a teenager, he’s just 15, wasn’t even allowed to play for the first team last season.”
There’s no doubt that the pressure and expectation growing around Dowman may be too much for a player of his age.
He needs time to develop away from the limelight, so that expectations don’t get to levels he simply cannot meet.
That said, unfortunately for Arsenal, the more he’s used and impresses, the less that they can do about the situation.
Players demonstrating anything at his age are always likely to garner excessive attention, and Dowman may have to accept that it comes with the territory.
Max Dowman is a genuine right-wing option for Arsenal next season
Spending most of his time as an advanced midfielder in the youth teams at Hale End, Dowman is yet to play in this role at senior level.
Instead, he has been deployed off the right and looked very effective.
The Gunners have constantly been feeding the youngster, giving him the ball on the touchline on the right-hand side, and he’s been excellent at creating separation from his defender and getting past them.
Completing three dribbles off the bench against Villarreal, Dowman already looks capable of reliably beating his full-back.
This is a quality Arsenal lack elsewhere in their squad and should be utilised by Arteta moving forward.
If Bukayo Saka isn’t fit or needs a rest, Dowman should genuinely be considered one of the ideal options to replace the Gunners’ talisman.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
