Fabian Hurzeler discussed Arsenal record-breaker Max Dowman after his Brighton side were knocked out of the Carabao Cup.
Dowman, 15, became the youngest player to ever start a match for Arsenal in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Brighton.
Mikel Arteta made ten changes from the team that beat Crystal Palace at the weekend but a youthful Gunners side was still strong enough to see off Brighton.
Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal’s previous youngest player before Dowman, broke the deadlock on the hour mark after combining with fellow academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Bukayo Saka, one of the older and most experienced players in the squad but still only 24, put the game to bed when he came off the bench to score Arsenal’s second.
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Arsenal’s priority is to win their first Premier League title since 2004 and Arteta’s side are four points clear at the top of the table.
But lifting the Carabao Cup should not be sniffed at for a team that has struggled to secure silverware under Arteta and the Gunners will face Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.
Brighton boss Hurzeler admitted his team were not at their ‘highest level’ at the Emirates Stadium but felt the outcome could have been very different had the visitors taken their chances.
‘I think if we take our chances we would be in the next round,’ the Seagulls manager said. ‘It’s about scoring and defending goals and unfortunately we were not able to score or defend our goal.
‘We didn’t defend the key moments well enough. In the second half we didn’t have loads of chances but we had possibilities to score, we tried hard, but we weren’t able to do it.
‘We were not at our highest level today but it’s also not easy to score goals here, we all know that.’
Hurzeler was then asked about Dowman and whether it was difficult to make a game-plan not knowing which team Arteta would pick and knowing less about some of the youngsters in Arsenal’s squad.
‘I think he [Dowman] already played some minutes in the Premier League so he’s a good player,’ Hurzeler said before likening Dowman to his Arsenal teammate and England star Saka.
‘We all try to prepare our team the best we can do. Left-footed player, similar to Saka, so the profiles are not too different.
‘We tried to prepare the best way we can but for sure you don’t always knows who’s playing until you see the teamsheet and at that point you can give some more advice to the players.’
While this was Dowman’s first start, it was his fourth appearance for Arsenal overall since his debut back in August.
Arteta described it as a ‘very special evening’ as Arsenal not only progressed but were able to give ‘huge debuts’ to Dowman and striker Andre Harriman-Annous.
‘A very special evening to be fair, very happy for various reasons,’ said Arteta.
‘Obviously, we are in the quarter-finals, and we won the game against a really tough opponent.
‘We made 10 changes, we played players that never played together, yet we made two huge debuts for Max and Andre.
‘That feeling of giving the opportunity to somebody and fulfilling a dream is unique, and I’m very happy that things turned out to be very positive, and we managed to win the game.’
Arsenal return to Premier League action against Burnley this weekend while Brighton play host to Leeds United.
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