ARSENAL are taking special measures to protect Max Dowman on and off the pitch.
The 15-year-old winger rose to prominence last season with a string of scintillating displays for the Gunners’ Under-18s, scoring 19 goals and racking up five assists.
His exploits saw him rewarded with a place in the Gunners’ squad for their pre-season tour of Asia, in which he shone in multiple cameos from the bench.
Dowman was given his Premier League bow in the north Londoners’ 5-0 win over Leeds United last weekend and once again showed his immense promise.
The Arsenal brass are doing everything in their power to keep Dowman on the path to fulfilling his potential.
And the teenager’s rapid rise to fame has seen the club hire a security guard to keep over-eager fans from getting too close to him.
The bodyguard has been assigned to be Dowman’s shadow at all times and was even spotted on the touchline during the Gunners’ season opener against Manchester United.
In keeping with Premier League and club safeguarding rules, Dowman has also been made to change away from his team-mates before training and matches.
He is, however, allowed back into the dressing room to take in Mikel Arteta’s team talks once all of his team-mates are dressed.
A neat bit of second-half trickery from Dowman earned Arsenal a penalty against the Whites last Sunday, which new Gunners striker Viktor Gyokeres converted to bag his second of the game.
Arteta said of his display against Leeds: “This is what we see every single day in training.
“And I think we just gathered information about how he handles certain situations.
“In terms of training, being in the squad and not being selected afterwards in Manchester, coming on the bench and feeling ready. But again, a big compliment to his family as well.
“I think there is a kid with a level of maturity, stability and hunger that is very difficult to see.
“And obviously to Per [Mertesacker], the academy, all the coaches and everyone who has been involved in that journey, because there is a kid here that has zero hesitation.
He’s so convinced that he can go at 15 and deliver that, which I have never witnessed in my life.”
Mikel Arteta on Max Dowman
“He’s so convinced that he can go at 15 and deliver that, which I have never witnessed in my life.
“And for us, it brings joy, it brings emotion and something else that makes our jobs so great.”
Dowman and his Arsenal team-mates will be back in action on Sunday, travelling to Anfield to take on Liverpool in a pivotal clash of title challengers.
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