Adrian Clarke believes one Arsenal player ‘looked after’ Max Dowman really well on Wednesday night against Brighton.
The Gunners beat Brighton 2-0 to progress into the last eight of the Carabao Cup, courtesy of goals from Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka.
Mikel Arteta named a much-changed line-up, as he looked to rest key players for Saturday’s clash with Burnley, and this allowed some Hale End prospects to play.
Dowman shone for Arsenal, while 17-year-old striker Andre Harriman-Annous made his senior debut.
Adrian Clarke says Ben White ‘looked after’ Max Dowman against Brighton
Dowman produced a remarkable display against Brighton, prompting Clarke to compare him to a young Cesc Fabregas.
The 15-year-old completed five dribbles while playing up against the Seagulls’ first-choice left-back, Maxim De Cuyper.
This extremely impressive showing wouldn’t have been possible without the support of his teammates, however. Dowman was constantly fed the ball early in space, giving him the platform to attack De Cuyper directly.
Ben White was outstanding on the night, and part of what made the right-back’s performance so important was that he was the supply line to Dowman.
The former Brighton man consistently found the teenager in acres of space on the touchline. Speaking on the Arsenal Vision Podcast, pundit and analyst Clarke recognised this, claiming that White ‘looked after’ Dowman on the night.
“I thought he [White] looked after Max Dowman really well,” Clarke said.
“He kept giving him the ball. I think 13 passes from White to Dowman, and Dowman obviously came off relatively early, didn’t he? 60 odd minutes.
“So, you know, that’s a good supply line from White to Max.”
Ben White and Max Dowman could form a dangerous partnership
Jurrien Timber is in imperious form for Arsenal, and doesn’t look likely to lose his place anytime soon.
Thus, through no fault of his own, White is likely to be restricted to cameo appearances off the bench and minutes in cup competitions for the time being.
While he won’t want to play this peripheral role in the long term, it may give him an opportunity to build a dangerous partnership with Dowman on the right.
The starlet’s showing on Wednesday night was promising enough that Arteta will surely be inclined to give him more opportunities in cup competitions, and White is likely to be the right-back behind him in these games.
With Dowman’s preference generally to drive inside, White’s overlapping runs could create an extremely threatening dynamic between the two players.
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