Arsenal’s 15-year-old sensation Max Dowman showed that the hype surrounding him is more than warranted as he scored an outrageous goal in the Gunners’ Uefa Youth League clash against Bayern Munich.
The precursor to Wednesday night’s Champions League clash between the two most in-form teams in Europe, Arsenal’s Under-19s came from behind to beat Bayern 4-2 at Meadow Park.
Dowman, who sparked the comeback with his 38th-minute strike, put the icing on the cake in style deep into second-half stoppage time with a sensational solo effort.
Picking the ball up on the right, he darted past his man before tapping the ball through Bayern defender Cassiano Kiala’s legs to break into the box.
With right-back Magnus Dalplaz sprinting across to close Dowman down, the teenager whipped out a filthy roulette to leave him for dead before dinking over goalkeeper Leonard Prescott to score Arsenal’s fourth and seal the points for his side.
He then appeared to taunt opposition centre-back Ljubo Puljic, who scored in the 83rd minute to reduce Bayern’s deficit to one and ensure a nervy ending, with Dowman pointing at him as he wheeled away in celebration.
ARSENAL'S MAX DOWMAN WITH A SPECIAL GOAL IN THE UEFA YOUTH LEAGUE 🤯 pic.twitter.com/z75ZGS5Na9
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 26, 2025
While their senior counterparts go into their meeting at the Emirates having not experienced defeat in Europe this year, the same cannot be said for either of Arsenal and Bayern’s youth teams, with Wednesday afternoon’s win acting as the Gunners’ first result in five games. They go level on points with Bayern, who also only have one win to their name.
Dowman became the youngest ever player to appear in the Champions League when he came off the bench during Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Slavia Prague earlier this month.
Dowman’s appearance at the age of 15 years and 308 days broke the Champions League record previously set by Youssoufa Moukoko at Borussia Dortmund, and Mikel Arteta was again full of warm words for his young star.
“The first ball he gets, he takes people on. He starts to dribble and gets a foul. That is personality, that is courage,” the Gunners head coach said.
“You cannot teach that — you either have it or you don’t. It doesn’t matter what his passport says, you throw him in this context and he is able to adapt and have a good performance.”
The fact he played in the Youth League means he will not be in Arsenal’s senior squad to face Bayern.
