The evening at the Emirates is one of those that, at the end of the season, will be remembered if Arsenal ends up winning the Premier League for the first time in more than 20 years. Much of this will be down to the performance of Max Dowman (Chelmsford, England, 2009), who made his mark on English football history at the age of 16 years, two months and 11 days. Pure Hale End.
The scenario with just over a quarter of an hour to go was dramatic. Ideas were not flowing and Everton were holding on for a draw that would have turned the Premier League upside down. It was then that Mikel Arteta looked to the sidelines and called up Max Dowman, who had made his first-team comeback last week in the FA Cup against Mansfield after an ankle injury halted his rise in early December, when he was still only 15 years old.
“I probably had a hunch. Yesterday he was training and in my head I thought it was a good moment for him,” Mikel Arteta said after the match. “He doesn’t seem to be fazed by the occasion, the moment, the context or the opponent. He just plays very naturally. He makes decisions to make things happen and what he offered was incredible.”
I probably had a hunch. Yesterday he was training and in my head I thought it was a good time for him
To tell the truth, he is still a player who is still a little green. Especially on the physical side. However, it is undeniable that things happen every time the ball passes through his feet: he distributed two key passes, completed 2/4 dribbles, forced two fouls and won 4/8 duels. He could not be stopped and, with the game about to go into stoppage time, he lifted his head on the edge of the area and served a ball to the far post that, after Pickford’s mistake, Hincapie collected to serve the goal on a plate to Gyokeres.
“When you watch him play, you don’t think he’s 16 years old. You don’t think that when he has the ball with the serenity and confidence with which he plays. He has been progressing. He suffered an injury and was out for a while, so I didn’t see him for a few months, but now he’s back and still playing with the same confidence he had before. He makes a lot of right decisions when he comes on the pitch. He’s an incredible player and very good,” said Arsenal’s number 14.
The goal had been the work of the Swede, but all eyes were on Max Dowman, who, with Everton throwing everything at them in search of an equaliser, sealed the match with a stunning goal. He collected a second ball in his own half, left two Toffees players on the floor and planted himself in front of the goal to score at will. The Emirates exploded as they celebrated the first goal from their ‘wonderkid’.
After several months in the first team, the Premier League regulations delayed his debut with Arsenal until the start of this season, where he became the youngest debutant in the Champions League, surpassing Youssoufa Moukoko’s record in 2020.
What nobody will be able to take away from him – until further notice – is the fact that he has become the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, having ousted James Vaughan, who had held the record since April 2005, when he took part in Everton’s thrashing of Bolton at the age of 16 years, eight months and 27 days.
Come on, do your thing and win the game for us. These are the moments in the season when something special has to happen
“Come on, do your thing and win the game for us. These are the moments in the season when something special has to happen. He knows he has the ability and when he has to give him the opportunity, he will take it,” Mikel Arteta said after the game when asked what he had said to Dowman before taking to the field.
He is only 16 years old, but he already has England at his feet. “There’s an arrogance about this boy that I haven’t seen in many footballers,” said Jamie Redknapp. “Every time I see him play he does something that takes my breath away,” said Joe Cole. “He is living up to the expectations surrounding him,” said Joleon Lescott. “He has exceptional talent and will play a very important role in the future of Arsenal and the national team,” said John Terry.
“One thing is to raise a talent and another very different is to raise a person with this personality and charisma to play a match of this relevance in the way he has done,” said Arteta. Although it sounds like a cliche, the easy thing is not to get there… but to stay there. Just ask Lewis-Skelly or Nwaneri. But while he continues to be cooked slowly, Max Dowman will always remember this afternoon-evening as his graduation with an Arsenal that is one step closer to winning the Premier League.
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