'Arsenal scramble with in-demand Max Dowman after double Man United exit blows'
03/21/2025 01:54 PM
Arsenal are fast-tracking Max Dowman’s development in a bid to prove they are the right team for him as big clubs circle with interest.
Dowman is the latest player to come through Arsenal’s prestigious Hale End, following in the footsteps of stars like Ethan Nwaneri and the currently-injured Bukayo Saka.
There were calls from some fans for the young midfielder to be called up to the senior side, amid an injury crisis, but the Premier League’s rules would not have allowed it, given Dowman only turned 15-years-old at the end of December.
Mikel Arteta has generally been cautious to use youth-teamers, but the success of Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly this season will likely spur him on to take a closer look at some of the prospects coming out of the Hale End academy.
What’s more, according to David Ornstein in The Athletic “most big clubs would love to sign him”, and some recent exits from Arsenal will be a cause for concern for Arteta.
Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven thriving at Man United
Chido Obi made the switch from from Arsenal to Man United in the summer, and Ayden Heaven followed that same path in January.
Both players were extremely highly-regarded at Arsenal, and losing the two important youth teamers was a condemnation of the lack of a pathway that existed from academy to first-team in North London.
Despite an intervention from Arteta, Obi still made the switch in the summer, and has been used four times by United this season, despite still only being 17-years-old.
The Danish youth international’s exit also coincided with injuries to strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, so the Spanish manager’s failure to convince the striker to stay at Arsenal in the summer left him without a recognised number nine, with Mikel Merino uncomfortably filling that spot.
Heaven, meanwhile, is blossoming as a centre-half in the Red Devil’s squad, filling in for the injured Lisandro Martinez.
Mikel Arteta looking to integrate Max Downman in Arsenal first-team
During the first-team’s mid-season training trip to Dubai, Dowman was included in the squad by Arteta, indicating just how highly he thinks of the youngster.
There will also be a focus on integrating the youngster into the first-team fold in the coming pre-season, ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The losses of Obi and Heaven also likely factored into the decision to take Dowman to Dubai and with the midfielder set to decide on his future when he turns 16-years-old, the Spanish manager may have also been trying to use the trip as a way to convince the England youth international to remain at the club.
Should he be able to convince the talented midfielder to remain at Arsenal, it may well become one of Arteta’s most significant moments as the Gunners’ boss.
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