Arteta hails Max Dowman's incredible impact: "He deserves chances"

Max Dowman's meteoric rise has been acknowledged by Mikel Arteta as he prepares to give the youngster more chances this season.

Dowman is one of those rare gems in football. He's a player with such technical ability that he wastes very little possession. When Dowman is involved, there is almost always an end product.

After some excellent performances during Arsenal's tour of Asia, expectations of the youngster have gone stratospheric. On Wednesday, against VIllarreal at the Emirates, Dowman's contribution was outstanding. In that context, it's easy to understand why Arteta had to field a number of questions about the 15-year-old's potential involvement this season.

Arteta unable to hide his admiration of Dowman's contribution

Asked about Dowman's performance in the Villarreal match, Arteta could not hide that he was impressed. “He continues to impress, without a doubt.

“The impact he had in the game again today, the efficiency that he shows in every attack and action, it's incredible.

“He deserves to have chances and if he continues like this, let's see what happens,” Arteta told reporters in the post match interview.

The chances that Arteta talks about must remain limited as Dowman continues to develop. In terms of raw ability, the youngster could play every week. But being a professional footballer in the Premier League, with all the demands that come with it, place huge physical and mental demands on even the strongest of characters.

Dowman advised to stay humble by former Arsenal wonder-kid

It's not like Arsenal fans haven't been here before. A timely reminder in a brilliant interview with former Arsenal wonder-kid, Charlie Patino, suggests that we should all calm down a little and help keep Dowman's feet on the ground.

The Arsenal youngsters are coming through so quickly that it's impossible not to be optomistic about the future. Asked to comment on the impact that Dowman is having at such a young age, Arteta could only compare him with Ethan Nwaneri.

“The most similar one was Ethan [Nwaneri]. I think it was a different stage there, but he [Dowman] managed it so fast.”

Arsenal players trust Dowman enough to give him the ball

A question about how the Arsenal players have reacted to Dowman's rise was perhaps the most telling.

“The reaction is very clear. They have the ball and they give it to him. That tells you how much they trust him and the relationship he's building within the team.”

In the match against Villarreal it was very obvious that Dowman was trusted with the ball, even in tight situations. The youngster repaid the faith shown in him by not wasting possession. If he could take a player on, that's what he did. If he could get a shot away, he had the confidence to have a go. If he had to go backwards to keep possession, he passed the ball backwards with the maturity of a seasoned professional.

Arteta's ”let's see how it goes” says everything

In relation to how often we can expect to see of Dowman in the Premier League this season, Arteta remained guarded. ”Let's see how it goes,” he told the press. Dowman needs a break and he needs a rest. He will get that over the next few days and we may not see him again before the opening day trip to Old Trafford.

It would be prudent to bring Dowman through slowly and much will depend on how Arsenal start the season. If Arsenal start well and injuries do not impact the squad as they did last season then Dowman's contribution may be kept limited to cup games and Premier League substitute appearances.