Arsenal are open to sending teenage prospect Max Dowman out on loan this season if it aids his development. The 16-year-old remains part of Mikel Arteta’s senior squad for now, but the club is prepared to review his situation.
Dowman marked his first appearance of the season with two goals in Arsenal’s 4-2 Carabao Cup win at Ipswich on Tuesday. He is yet to feature in the Premier League this term, after a campaign in which he became the youngest player to score in Premier League history and also the youngest scorer for Arsenal. He featured 13 times for the Gunners last season as they ended a 22-year wait to win the Premier League.
Arteta said Arsenal will assess Dowman’s position at regular intervals. “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,” he said. The manager added that the decision would depend on several factors: what Dowman needs, what the team needs, the availability in the squad, the minutes he is playing and the quality of those minutes. “We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and to impact the team,” Arteta said.
Any loan move would have to wait until Dowman turns 17 on 31 December, when he becomes eligible. Dowman completed his GCSEs in the summer. The winter transfer window is scheduled to open the following day. Luton manager Jack Wilshere, the former Arsenal midfielder, is believed to have expressed an interest in taking Dowman on loan, though Arteta said Arsenal had not listened to possibilities because they were clear about wanting him in the squad and involved in pre-season.
Arteta was guarded on whether it might be too early for Dowman to go out on loan. “There have been many cases of that age when they have gone out and been successful and others not,” he said, recalling his own move to Paris Saint-Germain at 17. He said the outcome depends on the atmosphere at the loan club and how much the coach believes in the player, and that for now Dowman is in a good place at Arsenal.
Arsenal have won all seven of their domestic and European fixtures this season, starting with a Community Shield victory over Manchester City. Dowman will hope his midweek display puts him in Arteta’s thinking for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Brighton. Asked about that prospect, Arteta said: “The best way to knock on the door is to do it on the pitch, not in the office.” He added that a player who delivers consistently in training and matches sends the best signal to the manager and team-mates, and described what Dowman did against Ipswich, alongside other players who have not played many minutes, as really impressive.