In prodigy Max Dowman, 15 years and 234 days, Arsenal sense magic at advanced midfield and Kaka-like makings of a virtuoso

Another moment arrived a few minutes on, when he spun past full-back Leeds United’s full back Gabriel Gudmundsson with a burst of explosive speed, But the Swede was in no mood to budge and dragged down. The referee gestured a free kick. The Arsenal supporters, by now intoxicated by Dowman’s dazzle, began to sing: “Super Max Dowman”. They cried for him to take the free kick. His 18-year-old teammate Ethan Nwaneri—coincidentally the youngest ever player in the league, when he debuted three years ago—took the free kick. A deflection fell kindly on him, but his volley fizzed past the post. He held his hands on his head.

By then, the match was sewn up.

But the crowd lingered, transfixed by the poise of the 15-year-old midfielder in a stage so large that older and more decorated men have frozen. Three minutes into stoppage, they, and perhaps he, thought the historic moment had arrived. He dribbled in from the right and skipped past his markers when Anton Stach clipped him inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot, even though he made the most of the light touch. Excitement bubbled. It was the third penalty he had in his last three games (the other two being warm-ups). In the pre-season against Newcastle United, he was a joy to behold, conjuring the Cruyff turn too.

But Viktor Gyokeres turned party spoiler and took the penalty. Dowman showed no regrets as his teammates piled on him. There is time yet to be the league’s youngest scorer, currently held by Ipswich Town’s Jason Dozzell, who was 16 years and 57 days old when he scored against Coventry City in 1984. Dowman still has nearly six months to make the record his own.

Max Dowman vs Leeds United

Premier League debut at 15 years old

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Post match, manager Mikel Arteta would say, still in a state of excitement: “It was a special moment, you could sense it. It’s how he reacts and deals with the situation. He wins a penalty on his debut at the Emirates, that’s incredible. He’s so convinced that he can go at 15 and deliver that, which I’ve never witnessed in my life.” Otherwise, Arteta, manager of the side that finished runners-up thrice in as many seasons and aspires to go one step further this time, to blood in a 15-year-old, would not have fast-tracked him to the first team. Leap of faith introductions are increasingly rare for the elites of the league.

But it is preposterous and dangerous to hype him up as the next big thing from England. Declan Rice, his colleague, has played long enough to understand the fickleness of the sporting world. “You can be the best 15-year-old in the country, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be at 18”, the midfielder would counsel. Lionel Messis and Lamine Yamals, who was just three months older than Dowman when he made his Barcelona debut, are not everyday occurrences. Many a talent have withered after offering heady first impressions. A lot of things come between blossoming and blooming. He is still at a developmental stage, even though he is more evolved than most others of his age in the world. He still has rough edges, he is still raw to be exposed to high-class opponents week in and out, his body is unused to the season-long physical and mental grind of the league. He could encounter tougher and cleverer defenders than those of Leeds United. He would feel the pressure of a million gazes. He could drown in the quicksand of fame as several wunderkinds had.

He, though, has frightening potential. It best manifests when he controls the ball in tight spaces with defenders breathing down his neck. He does not surrender the ball to bigger and broader men; he kneads the right pass to the right man. He has pace and presence that has impressed scouts and coaches right from the day he set foot at the Hale End Academy. John Knight, one of the finest scouts in the country, spotted him at a local club at Chelmsford and immediately cajoled him to Hale End in his adolescence. When he turned 13, he was already tearing up scoring records and making jaws drops. A year later, he was practising with the first team. Only his age stipulations of the league prevented him from being introduced last season.

Some of his coaches liken him to the Brazilian virtuoso, Kaka. Like him, he produces his best when playing as the most advanced midfielder. Arteta has commissioned him on the right wing, where he buzzed. But high-class modern midfielders are adept at playing in various roles. And most of the academy coaches swear by his versatility.

Like Rice mentioned, it’s uncertain where he would be when is 18, whether he would fade or fire himself into the upper echelons of the game. But he surely will keep the audience hooked to him this season.