“If everyone could be wowed by Nwaneri, I don’t know what they’ll say about this guy I’m about to unveil”: Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has confirmed he’s about to unveil another academy star who’s better than Ethan Nwaneri
England legend Rio Ferdinand has spoken of his amazement at one of the Premier League’s top young starlets, who is set to burst through the ranks in the coming years – with Arsenal prodigy Max Dowman seeing Ferdinand wax lyrical over his potential and talent after seeing him in Gunners training.
The Gunners flew out to Dubai for a training camp in recent weeks, aiming to close the gap to Liverpool in the Premier League title race with a much-needed rest behind them – and Ferdinand watched Mikel Arteta’s men in training as they prepared for a gruelling final few months of the campaign.
But whilst the Gunners have various talents under the Spaniard, it was Dowman who caught his eye in the Middle East after some impressive performances against the first-team squad.
Ferdinand: Dowman Confidence ‘On Another Planet’ at Arsenal
The youngster is already mixing it with some world-class players
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand stated that he’d already told fans of Dowman’s potential just weeks ago – and having seen the Arsenal team in their warm weather training camp in Dubai, the Manchester United legend was in awe of what he saw from the teenager.
Ferdinand stated on his channel:
“We’re talking about Man United’s young players, Arsenal have got a few, mate. There’s a young kid. Remember I said it weeks ago, Max Dowman. Wow!
“I went to Dubai the other day, I see the Arsenal team the other day. I didn’t watch them train but I’m hearing – mate…
“I’ve watched him personally live and I came away from the game going: ‘Wow, what have I just seen?’
“The confidence [is] on another planet. Don’t forget, at the time I’ve seen him, he was 15-16 and was playing against 18-year-olds. Some of the guys at Arsenal are saying he’s walking over there into training with the Arsenal first-teamers like it’s nothing. It’s like he’s meant to be. It looks like the confidence is on 100.”
Dowman made his Arsenal under-18’s debut at the age of just 13, back in September 2023 – and a year later, he scored for the club against Atalanta in the UEFA Youth League, becoming the youngest scorer in the competition’s history at 14 years, eight months and 19 days old.
The youngster has already begun training with the first-team after making his Premier League 2 debut aged 14, but he is unable to feature in the Premier League for the rest of the campaign due to the fact that he was part of the under-16 squad at the start of the season.
Next season could offer him the chance to finally play for the Gunners, and he will still be 15 by the turn of the year – which could make him the second-youngest Premier League player of all-time behind teammate Ethan Nwaneri.
Dowman has already made 13 youth appearances for England’s under-16 and under-17 teams despite only turning 15 at the end of 2024, with three goals to boot – and having been labelled as the ‘next Kaka’ by Arsenal youth coach Gustavo Oliveira, it’s certainly a positive comparison to be made at such a young age, with the Brazilian legend having won trophies and individual accolades galore in his glittering career.
