Arsenal’s next star obliterates European record while playing five years above his age | Football | Sport

Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman sent his reputation soaring with a goal against Atalanta in the UEFA Youth League today (Thursday) at the age of just 14.

The competition is open to all Under-19 players and Arsenal opted to give Dowman a chance, despite the fact he would be facing opponents up to five years older than him, due to his stellar recent performances.

And the gamble on the central midfielder paid off. It was not a positive day for the Gunners on the whole as Atalanta’s talented youngsters prevailed 4-1 on home soil, but Arsenal‘s only goal was scored by Dowman in the 49th minute.

At 14 years, eight months and 19 days old, Dowman became by far the youngest player to score in the history of the UEFA Youth League. The previous record-holder, Rin Ahmeti of Kosovan side 2 Korriku, was 16.

Forward-thinking midfielder Dowman is becoming an ever more prominent name in Arsenal‘s youth ranks. He is now a regular with Jack Wilshere’s Under-18s side and England have promoted him to the Under-17s.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has shown that he is not afraid to throw a talented youngster in at the deep end, having given Ethan Nwaneri his Premier League debut at the age of just 15.

While Dowman may not yet be thinking about getting on the pitch for Arsenal‘s senior side, his immense talent has prompted huge praise from Wilshere, who wants to move him through the system as smoothly as possible.

“It’s reassuring to know that if I field an Under-14 who isn’t a regular in our training sessions, I can trust that they grasp our playing style and tactics,” Wilshere said after Dowman notched four assists in a 5-2 win over Fulham Under-18s last season.

“Today, they demonstrated that understanding flawlessly, which is a testament to the diligent work of all our coaches. There’s always a concern when fielding such a young player in these matches, but if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.

“We need to find a balance of letting him play and enjoy [his football] because of his age but also trying to get as much work into him as we can. Hopefully, we can fast-track him and when he goes over to the first team he’ll be more ready.”