Mikel Arteta praised another ‘special’ display from Max Dowman as the teenager made history in Arsenal’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Brighton.
Dowman, who made his debut for the Gunners earlier in the season, broke yet another record as he became Arsenal’s youngest-ever starter on Wednesday at the Emirates.
And on another historic night for the club’s youngsters, it was perhaps fitting that two Hale End academy graduates were at the heart of Arsenal’s opening goal.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, starting just his fourth game of the season, burst into the area to collect Mikel Merino’s superb backheel, before laying the ball back to Ethan Nwaneri who swept home into the bottom corner.
Arteta’s side doubled their lead later in the second half when substitute Bukayo Saka buried the rebound from Andre Harriman-Annous’s shot, who was also making his first-team debut alongside Dowman.
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Another clean sheet, Arsenal’s sixth in a row in all competitions, made sure of the victory and their place in the quarter-finals where they will host Crystal Palace.
The night, in part, belonged to Dowman, who is still not 16 for another two months and made way to heavy applause when he was subbed off after a bright display on his first senior start.
And Arteta was keen to sing the praises of the teenager in his post-match press conference, telling reporters: ‘For him everything is natural, for him everything is okay, it’s the way he plays. I think that’s the secret, that he doesn’t make a big fuss of it.
‘He just does what he does best, which is to play football, to play football with a lot of courage and determination, and today again he’s shown some incredible skill, some capacity to run past players at that level in the Premier League at 15. It’s something definitely special.’
Despite plenty of calls for Dowman to play an increased role in Arsenal’s first team, Arteta has carefully managed the teenager’s minutes this season, even sending him back down to for regular minutes with Under-21s.
But asked if the talented midfielder will now demand to start more for the first team after his debut, Arteta conceded: ‘For sure, if you ask him, for sure.
‘That’s what we have to manage and not only that, there’s a lot of things that are new in his life, we discussed that I think a few days ago.
‘Make sure that he does the right steps, that he behaves and accepts because this is going to go this one, then he’s going to play in a different team, and he needs to cope with all that because it’s happening very, very fast, and we all need to be aware of that.
‘Let’s encourage him to keep going that way, but let’s protect him as well.’
Asked about 17-year-old Harriman-Annous, who came into the starting lineup in place of Viktor Gyokeres, Arteta added: ‘Well, since pre-season when he was with us, I was very impressed with him.
‘First of all, his mentality, how much he wants it. That’s the first ingredient. He’s desperate to achieve his dream. I think he’s been very consistent, training with us and constantly giving us the option to pick him.
‘I believe today was the right day for him, for the context, for the way he’s playing as well. He certainly proved that he’s got a chance.’
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