Mikel Arteta hailed Max Dowman as a “special” talent after he made history for Arsenal.
Dowman became Arsenal’s youngest-ever senior starter when he was picked in the team to face Brighton at the age of just 15 years and 302 days.
The winger had made just three first-team appearances as a substitute before Wednesday night, but impressed on his full debut.
Dowman helped Arsenal book a spot in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 win, and was given a standing ovation from the crowd at the Emirates Stadium when he came off with 20 minutes to go.
“For him, everything is natural. For him, everything is okay,” said Arteta. “It’s the way he plays. I think that’s the secret, that he doesn’t make a big fuss of it.
“He just does what he does best, which is to play football. To play football with a lot of courage and determination.
“And, today again, he has shown some incredible skill, some capacity to run past players at that level in the Premier League. At 15, it is something definitely special.”
Arteta admitted that Dowman will now be hungry to start in the Champions League and Premier League, but stressed the need for Arsenal to manage the teenager’s minutes.
“There are a lot of things that are new in his life,” he said. “We discussed that, I think, a few days ago.
“Make sure that he does the right steps, that he behaves and accepts - because this is going to go this one, then he is going to play in a different team.
“He needs to cope with all that, because it is happening very, very fast and we all need to be aware of that. Let’s encourage him to keep going that way, but let’s protect him as well.”
It was a good night for Arsenal’s academy against Brighton, with 17-year-old forward Andre Harriman-Annous also making his senior debut.
Even the goals came from academy graduates, as Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka both found the net.
“A very special evening,” said Arteta. “I am very happy, for various reasons.”
