Max Dowman is one of Arsenal’s brightest young talents.
The 16-year-old showed his class at the highest level last season and even made a serious contribution to help the Gunners win the Premier League title.
In the upcoming campaign, Dowman is expected to get even more opportunities, but nobody expects him to be a starter on day one.
That, however, could genuinely happen now.
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Max Dowman could start Arsenal’s first Premier League game of the season
Arsenal have a serious problem going into the new season.
Many of the Gunners’ key players are still at the World Cup with their national teams, and some of them are nowhere near fully fit.
Declan Rice is playing through pain and has been for a while, as is William Saliba, who may even need surgery to correct his back issue.
Bukayo Saka is another player who isn’t fit enough to play 90 minutes, which is why Noni Madueke has started most games for England on the right flank.
With the Three Lions expected to go deep in the World Cup, neither Saka nor Madueke will get a full pre-season. They may not even return to Arsenal until August.
That leaves a big hole on the right flank, and Mikel Arteta could be forced to turn to young Max Dowman to start on the opening day against Coventry City.
The Arsenal academy graduate has only ever started one Premier League game before, and that came in the final fixture of last season.
There is now a surprising yet realistic chance that he could do it again to kick-start the new season.
How closely do you think Max Dowman will follow in Lamine Yamal’s footsteps?
Max Dowman starting would be a surprise but he could still deliver
Nobody expects Dowman to start Arsenal’s first game of the season, but that doesn’t mean he cannot come up with the goods.
The 16-year-old has already shown that he is good enough to play at the highest level, and he has embarrassed a few senior pros already too.
If he does end up starting, we are absolutely convinced that Dowman will have a good game against Coventry City as Arsenal begin their title defence.
We won’t be surprised if he ends up scoring either.
The upcoming campaign could be a massive one for Dowman, and he could be key early on in the campaign until Saka and Madueke are fully fit.
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