Arsenal have been plotting out a route for Max Dowman to the senior team, with the youngster tipped for big things in the future.
At just 15 years old, the attacking midfielder has already caught the attention of Mikel Arteta with impressive displays during training sessions over the past year.
After many coaching sessions, Dowman was handed his Arsenal debut during the thrashing of Leeds at the Emirates Stadium.
It was the perfect environment to show what he is capable of, featuring in a game that was effectively over and without the pressure to deliver right away.
That pressure will come eventually, as Arsenal push Dowman to become one of their key players, but that is further down the line.
For now, there is still some development to be had, which is why the youngster has been given a mentor at the club.
- READ MORE: ‘Incredible’ player Arsenal let go suffers a nightmare at his new club just two months after leaving
Arsenal should have picked Martin Odegaard to be Max Dowman’s mentor
Arsenal have picked Declan Rice to be Dowman’s mentor going forward, giving the England international some more responsibility.
While the club-record signing is certainly a good option, he may not have been the best there, as Martin Odegaard could have been a better fit.
As far as career paths go, the Arsenal captain has one that aligns slightly closer to Dowman’s current situation.
As a teenager, Odegaard burst onto the scene at Stromsgodset before sealing a stunning move to Real Madrid.
That move didn’t quite work out as he failed to break into the side and had several loans before settling at Arsenal.
Many years on from that now, Odegaard could pass on what worked and what didn’t from his time trying to break in at a big club as a wonderkid.
There will be plenty of pressure that he experienced that can help develop his teammate into the next big star.
It’s a fit that just makes sense, but also plays into the reason that the Norwegian international was given the captaincy to begin with.
- READ MORE: South American football expert admits he has a doubt about Arsenal’s move for Piero Hincapie
What Mikel Arteta has said about Martin Odegaard’s leadership
Over recent seasons, there have been questions about Arsenal’s captaincy, which have faded with the appointment of Odegaard.
While he may not be the shouting and hollering leader of Premier League years gone by, Arteta has still praised the midfielder for his style of leadership.
Speaking in 2023, the Arsenal boss said: “He has a character that everybody respects, everybody admires, and everybody follows.
“He does it in his own way. There are many ways to lead a team, and he has a unique one. We don’t want to take anything from that.
“We are really happy he represents the club in the way he does. He needs to continue to develop those skills in the best way because the demands will keep increasing, and his role, hopefully, as well.”
It wasn’t just back then that Odegaard was rated for his leadership, but it followed this summer too, with the Arsenal players voting to keep him as captain.
“I asked them to vote [for] the captain, and I got the result yesterday,” Arteta said before the start of the 2025/26 season. “And by a mile, by a big, big 100 miles, everybody choosing the same person, which is Martin Odegaard, and which is the most clear sign that you can have.
“It’s how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win. So I think there’s no question about that.”
It shows how highly rated he is, and how important he could be for the development of the team.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
