Max Dowman's Future at Arsenal: Arteta Weighs Loan Options

Mikel Arteta is weighing up a January loan move for teenage sensation Max Dowman, even as the youngster’s star continues to rise at Arsenal.

The 16-year-old, already the youngest scorer in Premier League history and in Arsenal’s history, struck twice in the 4-2 League Cup win over Ipswich Town on Tuesday, a performance that only sharpened the clamour from fans to see more of him. They know they have a gem. They just want to see him unleashed.

So far, Dowman’s senior numbers are modest but eye-catching for his age: three goals and one assist in 14 appearances in all competitions. An England Under-19 international who can operate either as an attacking midfielder or out wide, he has forced his way into the first-team squad after progressing through Arsenal’s academy. Yet he is still waiting for his first Premier League minute of the season for the reigning champions.

Arteta, though, is refusing to get swept away by the excitement. He is plotting the next steps carefully.

Arteta keeps options open

Speaking to BBC Sport, the Arsenal manager set out the club’s stance on Dowman’s immediate future and the possibility of a loan in January.

“We will evaluate every six months where we are and what is the best thing for him to do and then make the right decision,” Arteta said. “It depends on a lot of factors.

“What he needs, and what the team needs as well, the availability we have in the squad, the minutes that he is playing and the qualities of those minutes.

“We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and to impact the team.”

That last line will reassure supporters who fear seeing Dowman disappear from the Emirates just as he begins to excite. Yet Arteta did not hide that the club will consider all avenues once the transfer window opens.

For now, Arsenal have deliberately kept him close. “We haven’t really listened to any of the possibilities because we were crystal clear that we wanted to have Max in the squad, that we wanted him to be part of the pre-season and then start to see where we are from there,” Arteta explained.

A manager who has lived it

Arteta knows the risks and rewards of an early move better than most. He dipped into his own past to underline how delicate these decisions can be.

“There have been many cases of that age when they have gone out and been successful and others not,” he said. “In my particular case, I was 17 when I went to Paris [St-Germain].

“It depends on the atmosphere that you find there, and how much the coach believes in you as to whether you go there just to be part of a squad or play minutes.

“Which country, it depends.

“But now he is in a good place, let’s keep him here.”

The message is clear: Arsenal will not send Dowman out simply for the sake of it. Any loan has to guarantee real football, not just a different bench.

Knocking on the door the right way

Dowman’s brace against Ipswich has inevitably sparked talk of whether he could feature in the Premier League this weekend, with Brighton and Hove Albion visiting the Emirates on Saturday. Arteta made it plain how the teenager can turn those conversations into reality.

“The best way to knock on the door is to do it on the pitch, not in the office,” he said. “Then you just leave out the arguments.

“When a player delivers constantly on the pitch, every single day in training, that’s the best way, that’s the best signal for the manager.

“That’s the best signal for his teammates, too.

“And what Max did the other day, alongside all the other players as well that haven’t played many minutes this season, was really impressive.”

The goals, the records, the buzz – they all point in one direction. The question now is whether Dowman’s next steps come in the glare of the Emirates or on loan, learning his trade somewhere else, as Arsenal try to turn raw talent into a long-term Premier League force.