MIKEL ARTETA always has an eye on Arsenal’s future stars.
Famously, within his first week of being appointed Gunners boss in December 2019, the Spaniard asked the academy for videos of a 12-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.
Now, an 18-year-old Nwaneri is a history-making first-team star in a breakthrough campaign, alongside Hale End pal and England cap Myles Lewis-Skelly, also 18.
You do not have to look too far to see the next one on the North London conveyor belt, with Arteta heavily hinting that 15-year-old midfielder Max Dowman will be a part of the senior squad next season and is a “big, big talent”.
This is hardly news to Arsenal fans. Dowman — born in Chelmsford on December 31, 2009 — is considered to be one of the most exciting academy products to ever be produced by the club, and that is saying something.
Declan Rice recently called him the “best 15-year-old in the country”, something Dowman is proving with the Under-18s and Under-21s on a weekly basis.
He currently has 12 goals and four assists in 13 games for the Under-18 side.
In September, he became the youngest-ever scorer in the Uefa Youth League as a 14-year-old, before becoming the youngest-ever Premier League 2 player in December.
All that has not gone unnoticed. Arteta has had Dowman training with the first team for most of this campaign, and even invited him on their mid-season Dubai trip.
It is understood that Arteta would have given Dowman his debut already but for Premier League rules that prohibit players registered for the Under-16s or below from featuring.
That will change next term, starting with this summer’s pre-season trip to Singapore and Hong Kong in July.
Arteta admitted recently the emergence of winger Nwaneri and defender Lewis-Skelly has altered his thinking when it comes to new signings.
Dowman is coming into that equation, too.
The Arsenal boss explained: “Let’s see how this evolves but we have certainly got a big, big talent there for the near future.”
It was suggested teenagers are breaking through more regularly in the modern game, like the Arsenal teenage duo and Barcelona’s 17-year-old genius Lamine Yamal.
But Arteta countered: “It is very difficult, there are not that many cases. You mentioned three in Europe and we have two, so it is very, very rare.
“But now he is involved in the squad. He trains with us a lot. Does that mean he will play in the Premier League many games?
“I don’t know, depends how good he is and how impressive he is and how much he offers the team like Ethan, like Myles, like any other player in the squad.
“He is on the right pathway and everybody in the academy has done an incredible job to consistently protect him, inspire him, challenge him, keep him always up.
“He is doing the right steps and taking it slowly. He will dictate how fast we go.”
Nwaneri became the youngest Prem debutant as a 15-year-old in September 2022 but is there such a thing as too young?
Arteta replied: “You need to understand his age.The way you talk and communicate with him.
“But if you look from afar and you don’t know he is 15 and you see certain things that he does, you have to judge him on that — you wouldn’t think he was different to any other player.”
There is also the balance of bringing through young talents and signing players that will see Arsenal end their 21-year title drought.
The Gunners are planning a huge splurge this summer, especially on an elite striker.
Arteta said: “You are never going to get it right unless you bring academy players through and win trophies.
“If you don’t do those two things at the same time, you are never going to win. So, both things together and we are in business.
“I love the trophies and I love working with young players, especially the ones that have been through our academy, and see them playing, because that is a dream for any football club.
“The first thing we do is, what do we have in the academy? Can we look at them? Can we promote them? Can we make them the lead players that we are going to need to win trophies? Do they have this mentality?
“Throughout that period of three, four, five years, are you thinking about winning matches and actually winning trophies? Or are you thinking about your own steps?
“Even if we get the best talent in Portugal for £50million, £60million, he comes here, maybe he has three wonderful months and then he drops for two or three months. That’s part of the game.”
ARSENAL’S NEXT CROP OF TALENT
But it’s not just Max Dowman who is making a name for himself in the Arsenal youth ranks.
Here SunSport break down three other youngsters set to burst onto the scene soon…
MARLI SALMON
- AGE: 15
- POSITION: Centre-back
- NATIONALITY: English
Compared to William Saliba by those in and around the Arsenal academy, he has a great leap, loves a sliding tackle and is good on the ball.
Salmon is only a year or two away from making the step up to men’s football.
JACK PORTER
- AGE: 16
- POSITION: Goalkeeper
- NATIONALITY: English
Made first-team debut in September in the Carabao Cup, breaking records along the way.
Porter has trained with senior team and is on Mikel Arteta’s radar. May need a loan move to get more experience.
KYRAN THOMPSON
- AGE: 15
- POSITION: Winger/striker
- NATIONALITY: English
Compared to Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham.
Arsenal beat Manchester City and Tottenham to sign Thompson from West Ham.
Recently helped the Under-16s to the Premier League Cup.
Read the full article here
