Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta considers loan for Max Dowman
Mikel Arteta has opened the door to Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman leaving on loan in a significant transfer twist, despite insisting the teenager currently remains part of his first-team plans, reports BritPanorama.
Dowman enhanced his growing reputation by scoring twice as Arsenal defeated Ipswich Town 4-2 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. The 16-year-old is yet to feature in the Premier League this season but made the most of his first senior appearance of the campaign with a match-winning display at Portman Road.
While Arteta wants Dowman to continue training with Arsenal’s senior squad and competing for opportunities over the coming months, he acknowledged that the club will review the teenager’s position every six months and did not rule out a temporary departure if regular football elsewhere would accelerate his development.
“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.”
Dowman will become eligible to leave Arsenal on loan when he turns 17 on December 31, just one day before the winter transfer window opens. Luton Town manager Jack Wilshere, who progressed through Arsenal’s academy before becoming a first-team star, is reportedly interested in taking Dowman to the League One club.
Arteta revealed that Arsenal have not yet seriously considered any approaches for Dowman, as they have been determined to involve the youngster throughout pre-season and the opening months of the campaign. “We haven’t really listened to any of the possibilities because we were crystal clear that we wanted to have Max in the squad,” he added.
Despite making 13 appearances last season and becoming the youngest player ever to score for Arsenal and in the Premier League, Arteta remains cautious about placing too much responsibility on the teenager at such an early stage of his career. Having joined Paris Saint-Germain at 17, he believes that the success of any potential loan would depend on the environment, the manager, and whether Dowman would receive meaningful minutes.
“There have been many cases of that age when they have gone out and been successful and others not,” Arteta noted. “But now he is in a good place, let’s keep him here.”
Arsenal have made a perfect start to the season, winning the Community Shield against Manchester City before claiming victory in all seven of their domestic and European fixtures. Dowman will now hope his Ipswich heroics earn him a place in Arteta’s squad for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Brighton, who enter the clash on a high after dumping Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup earlier this week.
“The best way to knock on the door is to do it on the pitch, not in the office,” Arteta said. “What Max did the other day, alongside all the other players as well that haven’t played many minutes this season, was really impressive.”
