14yo joins Arsenal first-team training pre-Chelsea clash

Arsenal 14-year-old Max Dowman trained with the first-team ahead of Sunday’s game against Chelsea, missing the u18 match to do so.

The Arsenal u18s were in action against Reading on Saturday, but talented young midfielder Max Dowman wasn’t involved in the clash.

Despite being just 14 years old, Dowman has been a regular with the Arsenal u18s and u19s this season, making eight appearances between the u18 Premier League and the UEFA Youth League.

The teenager would have played even more games if not for his England call-ups, going away with the u17s and scoring two goals in three European Championship qualifiers at the end of last month.

Yet instead of returning to the Arsenal u18s on Saturday, Dowman instead linked up with Mikel Arteta and his first-team squad for training ahead of Sunday’s game against Chelsea.

Let’s not get carried away, there’s no expectation that the 14-year-old will be involved in Sunday’s match, or even that he’s set to step up to the u21s just yet.

But perhaps the opportunity was a signal from Arsenal and Arteta that they’ve taken notice of his form and they’re ready to give him opportunities around the senior side in the coming years. Just like Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka before him.

There was some talk following Jack Wilshere’s departure from the Arsenal u18s that Max Dowman’s camp weren’t happy.

David Ornstein reported for The Athletic that sources close to the player’s family had suggested they were “extremely disappointed” by Wilshere’s exit.

Perhaps this training opportunity could be a response to that disappointment, making sure Dowman still feels that north London is the place for him to be.