'Generational talent' – Arsenal prospect, 15, embarrasses Martin Odegaard in training

Arsenal prospect Max Dowman showed a glimpse of his quality after being filmed going up against Martin Odegaard in training.

The teenager has been one of the Gunners’ breakout stars throughout pre-season. Despite his young age, Dowman has impressed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who gave the attacking midfielder a taste of first-team football for 25 minutes against AC Milan last week.

Following his promising display, Dowman was given half an hour in the Gunners’ 3-2 win over Newcastle United in Singapore on Sunday. He caught the attention for his Lionel Messi-like dribbling, winning the penalty which Odegaard converted for the decisive goal.

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While it remains to be seen whether Dowman’s pre-season exploits will translate into becoming a permanent fixture around the first team, the 15-year-old has certainly made a positive impression. Footage shared on of a recent training session did not slow down the excitement surrounding Dowman’s potential.

Receiving a ball on the wing, Dowman instantly brought the ball under control to create space from his marker before coming inside to start his run. He held off one possible challenge before skillfully flicking the ball away from Arsenal captain Odegaard and continuing his attack.

Dowman made his way to the opposite wing and beat another opponent for pace before seeing his cross hit the side-netting. There was a shout of, “Unlucky”, off-camera, but Arsenal fans had seen more than enough to be excited by one of the club’s leading academy prospects.

Reacting to the video on YouTube, one fan wrote: “The way Max Dowman drives the ball with so much confidence. He's gonna achieve great things in his career. What a generational talent we have got!” A second supporter added: “Sheeesh Max is frickin great on the ball.”

A third said: “You can just see how Max Dowman is running through players, that boy is good man.” A fourth fan echoed those thoughts: “Max looks like the best on the training pitch, the respect the senior players have for this kid, they can't even get near him.”

A fifth supporter summed up the noise around the Arsenal youngster: “Max Downman is a Gem!” It seems that Arteta agrees with the fans’ verdicts after being asked about the midfielder’s contribution to the team’s victory over Newcastle on Sunday.

“Yeah, it is special,” Arteta said of Dowman’s performance in his press conference. “Obviously, what he's done today against this team in the time that he had on the pitch is something certainly not common to witness for a 15-year-old. We are extremely happy to have him.”

Arteta has been willing to promote players from within Arsenal’s academy throughout his tenure. Last season, Hale End graduates Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri were firm fixtures within the squad.

Dowman is one of several youngsters in the pre-season squad and the manager believes it will be a useful experience for the academy stars. However, Arteta has steered away from declaring that Dowman will be a permanent part of the first team in the upcoming campaign.

“We don’t know with all the young kids,” Arteta admitted after the win over Milan. “At the end they are in and around the team constantly and they getting used to the dynamics and the demands.

“And especially raising the physical levels because the demands they need to perform and impact at the level is really high physical standards. They are getting there and that gives them a good platform and they will have to earn it.”

Meanwhile, Dowman has also left a lasting impression on his Arsenal team-mates. Declan Rice only had good things to say about how the teenager has stepped up to first team level.

“Max is obviously unbelievable," Rice admitted. "There's a lot of talk about Max and how good he is. But there's also five or six other young lads who also play tonight. Marli, Josh Nichols, Louis Copley, who was on the bench.

"The group that have come with us have actually really, really surprised me. First I've seen a lot of them. Obviously I know Max, but just how composed they are, calm they are for 15, 16 years old. It's way different to how I was.”