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During Arsenal’s pre-season fixture against Villarreal, the two largest cheers from the Emirates crowd were reserved for two players at very different stages of their careers.

The first eruption came before kick-off for a 27-year-old striker who has accumulated over £85m in combined transfer fees. The second, an hour into the game, was for a 15-year-old playing only his fifth first-team game.

Eyeballs were drawn to Viktor Gyokeres, the striker signed to turn the challengers into champions, but there was just as much anticipation around Max Dowman, Arsenal’s latest boy wonder.

The hype over Dowman’s potential is not new. Engaged Gunners fans have been aware of him for some time, taking notice when he played for the under-18s at just 13 or hopping aboard the bandwagon the following year when he became the youngest goalscorer in Uefa Youth League history.

However, it has reached a fever pitch this summer in response to Dowman’s ascension in Mikel Arteta’s squad.

Dowman was taken on Arsenal’s pre-season tour to Singapore and Hong Kong (in term time, no less), not just for the experience but to play. He has featured in all of Arsenal’s last four friendlies.

What has stood out most about Dowman is how assured he has looked in an elite environment, seemingly playing completely without fear against opponents in some cases who are at least twice as old as him.

He has won two penalties with daring, direct runs into the box and attempted eight dribbles in just 25 minutes against Villarreal.

“He’s desperate to play forward,” former Arsenal youth coach Temisan Williams, who coached Dowman at U12 level, tells The i Paper.

“He’s always looking to go on his [favoured] left [foot], but what is really great is that he can go on the right-hand side as well and be an old-school winger who gets down the outside and puts the ball in.

“That makes him even more dangerous and exciting because he can go both ways.”

At youth level, the best players often operate centrally, where they have more of the ball and can exert a greater influence on the game.

Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were central midfielders for Arsenal’s U21s, but broke through under Arteta at right wing and left-back, respectively. The same plan has been mapped out for Dowman.

“You never know with young players, he’s still only 15 at this point,” Williams says of where Dowman could eventually settle positionally.

“Personally, I would see Max as a No 8 where he can have space and be able to carry the ball. That’s where I’ve seen him most of his time in the academy.”

The similarities with Nwaneri are obvious. Stylistically, the pair share the same kind of traits and urgency to impact the game in the final third.

Nwaneri was deemed sufficiently ready to debut for Arsenal at 15, becoming the Premier League’s youngest-ever player in a game against Brentford in 2022.

“The most similar one was Ethan,” Arteta said on Wednesday, when asked whether he had ever seen a 15-year-old as good as Dowman.

“I think it was a different stage there, but with Max, it’s been so fast.

“Even last year when he was training with us, he was doing this kind of thing in training and now he’s doing it in the game consistently.”

It seems alarmingly young for someone to play professional football, but perhaps it is a sign of the times in a game fixated on the next big thing.

“I spoke to a Premier League pathway loans manager the other day, and he said, if you’re really going to give yourself the best possible chance, you have to be in the first team by about 16,” Williams says.

Dowman has got there early; he doesn’t turn 16 until New Year’s Eve. He has clearly made a big impression on his manager.

“If he continues like this, let’s see what happens,” Arteta said on the prospect of Dowman playing Premier League football this season.

With someone so young, it is natural to worry that increased attention – and with it expectation – can have an adverse effect.

Countless wonderkids have blazed brightly at the start, only to fade away.

Williams is confident that Dowman has the maturity and support network to cope.

“He has a fantastic family unit and support behind him, they have been brilliant all the way through the academy. I think that helps massively,” he says.

“The club are very good at making sure [young] players are protected and that their development is at the forefront.

“It’s a testament to the academy coaches and [academy manager] Per Mertesacker. He understands what it takes to play at the very highest level and the patience you need for players to make their way through to the first team and have a sustained, long-term career.”

Dowman is in contention to feature again on Saturday when Arsenal play Athletic Bilbao in their final warm-up before facing Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League on 17 August.

Arteta has confirmed Dowman will be given a break afterwards, following a whirlwind, life-altering few weeks. It is unlikely the hype machine will be dormant for too long, though.

Already, debates are underway over which big-name star Dowman could go on to emulate.

“I think it’s natural that there are going to be comparisons with [Jack] Wilshere; left-footed, can carry the ball,” says Williams, who regards Dowman as the best academy player he’s ever seen.

“[And] Of course, he’s playing on the right-hand side like Ethan [Nwaneri].

“[But] Max is going to be Max. Hopefully, he makes a name for himself.”