Mikel Arteta said it is “a joy” to work with Arsenal’s “incredible” 16-year-old Max Dowman after he scored twice to inspire a 4-2 win at Ipswich in the Carabao Cup.
Dowman marked his first appearance of the season for the Premier League champions with a superb solo goal after seven minutes before he slotted into the bottom corner at the start of the second half to cap a wonderful individual display.
It made Dowman only the second 16-year-old, after Wayne Rooney for Everton in 2002, to score a brace for a Premier League club and Arteta admitted it would be hard to keep the hype down after this latest star showing.
“A joy to have him, Marli (Salmon) as well,” Arteta said. “Max, yeah, it’s inevitable to talk about him when he scores and he creates the moments that he has created tonight. It’s normal.
“He can deliver those actions effortlessly, I would say. That’s his biggest quality and defensively, his application, his capacity as well to sustain the actions, which is not easy, he’s 16 years old and he can create moments but consistently to go through the game.
“With the demands that we put in them, to be able to do that is extremely difficult and he’s coping better and better and better.
“He’s an unbelievable player because of the character that he has and how much he loves to play at the biggest stage.”
Arteta had warned Dowman after Saturday’s 2-0 win at Sunderland – the same day the Gunners starlet played for the under-21s against Chelsea – that he must earn his minutes this season.
The emphatic answer from Dowman arrived after seven minutes at Portman Road when he danced past Cedric Kipre before he rifled into the bottom corner. It was the pressing of the teenage sensation which led to Noni Madueke’s goal before he was involved in Mikel Merino’s curled effort for Arsenal’s fourth.
“It’s not easy (to contain the hype), I understand, but what we have to do is look after him. He’s 16 years old. You don’t see that in this league,” Arteta added.
“In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context, but in this league, with the demands that the league [has], the players and everything put on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he’s in the right context with the right preparation.
“The probability is probably extremely low because you don’t see the players with the capacity to handle just the physicality of the game… but he’s doing it and he’s doing it really well every time there’s a chance.”
But he added: “He is 16 years old and we have to be really cautious.
“We don’t want to stop him, we don’t want to put the brakes on him, we need to develop him and we are fully aware what he needs. He will have opportunities.”
“It’s a lot of things that you need to grow, but at 16 to already do what he does, it’s just incredible.”
Ipswich boss Gary O’Neil played against Rooney when he was one of the most exciting teenagers in world football.
“Obviously to be playing at that level, to be trusted by Mikel Arteta, to be in and around a squad as talented as that is, at his age is an incredible achievement,” O’Neil added.
“I think Max is in a great spot. He has got one of the best coaches around, Arsenal are one of my favourite teams to watch and to study for the work Mikel has done, so I am sure the future is bright for him.”
