Wayne Rooney believes that Max Dowman’s goal was not quite as easy as he made it look, as the Arsenal winger had to show great composure.
Dowman became the Premier League’s youngest goal scorer at 16 years and 72 days against Everton, something which Rooney has done himself.
How many Premier League goals will Max Dowman score before he’s 20? 😳
Exceptional.
Rooney was also 16 when he scored his first Premier League goal, but doing it the opposite way round, netting for Everton against Arsenal.
The former Premier League striker has now been speaking about the teenager’s goal and why it was such a big moment for the North London club.
Wayne Rooney was impressed by Max Dowman’s first Arsenal goal
Wayne Rooney believes that Max Dowman’s first Arsenal goal is huge for building a connection between himself and the supporters.
After Jordan Pickford went up for the corner, Dowman had an empty net to tuck the ball home; however, he still had to beat two defenders to get there.
Speaking about Dowman’s goal, Rooney told BBC MOTD: “There’s been a lot of talk about him this season, to come into the Arsenal team at 16 and juggle that with his GCSEs and to score.
“It looks like a simple goal, but it was actually good play to take two players on and have the composure was very good. It’s so exciting for the Arsenal fans!
“There was a moment when he looked around to see the space, but he knew. What was so good was that you could feel everyone, the coaches, the fans, ‘Please go and score a goal,’ and he does.”
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The ex-Everton man quickly forged a strong bond with the club’s supporters by coming through the academy and impressing straight away.
“It’s such a big moment for the Arsenal fans to have a 16-year-old come through the academy and then score in the Premier League,” he added.
“I’ve experienced it, I’ve felt that connection from doing that – it’s a special moment for him.”
Dowman is now an option for Mikel Arteta for the remainder of the season after he swung the game in the Gunners’ favour against the Toffees.
Viktor Gyokeres and Dowman changed the game for Arsenal and could both be brought into the team against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.
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