Dowman makes Premier League debut at age 15

Max Dowman closed his eyes and looked up to the sky. Then he leant over, swiped the grass with his hands and trotted onto the field.

At the tender age of 15 years and 235 days, Dowman was officially a Premier League player — coming on to represent Arsenal as a second-half substitute in the 5-0 win over Leeds on Saturday.

His 64th-minute entrance might have generated the biggest cheer of the evening at Emirates Stadium. That's because, in Dowman, Arsenal fans know they have a seriously good prospect on their hands.

So does his manager.

“There is a kid here that has zero hesitation and is so convinced that, at 15, he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life,” Mikel Arteta said after the Leeds game about Dowman, who might just be England's answer to young Spain and Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal.

“For us he brings joy, he brings emotion and something else that makes our jobs so great.”

Here's a few things to know about Dowman, who wears braces and whose biggest struggle is not playing against grown men but growing a mustache:

Dowman's back

ground

Born in Chelmsford — a city in the county of Essex, which is northeast of London — Dowman joined Arsenal at the age of 5 in May 2015. He made his debut for Arsenal's under-18s at age 13 and became the youngest scorer in the UEFA Youth League at age 14, when he was playing for the under-19s.

Dowman was still 14 when he was asked by Arteta to train with Arsenal's senior team in December last year and he starred on the club's preseason tour of Asia in matches against AC Milan and Newcastle.

He is a left-footed attacking midfielder who plays on the right and likes to drift inside. Just ask Leeds — with one of his dribbles cutting in from the right, he won a stoppage-time penalty that was converted by Viktor Gyokeres to complete the 5-0 thrashing.

Is he the youngest Premier League player?

Not quite.

Dowman comes in at No. 2 on the all-time list, only behind fellow Arsenal player Ethan Nwaneri, who was 15 years and 181 days when he entered as a substitute against Brentford in September 2022. Nwaneri also is a left-footed attacking midfielder.

Only three players have participated in the Premier League under the age of 16. The other was Jeremy Monga, who played for Leicester last season at 15 years and 271 days. Monga had to wear a shirt with no sponsor because Leicester's jersey was sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.

Dowman's international status

He played for England's under-16 team last year and soon enough was selected for the under-17s at the European Championship for that age grade that took place in Albania in May, becoming the competition’s youngest scorer when netting against the Czech Republic.

Dowman started all three of England's group games but the team didn't advance.

The Champions League wait

Dowman will turn 16 on Dec. 31 and only then will he be allowed to play in the Champions League. In that case, it will be in time for the knockout stage starting in February, should Arteta choose to call him up.

UEFA regulations state: “Players aged 16 may be registered on List B if they have been registered with the participating club for the previous two years without interruption.” Dowman qualifies in that regard.

The youngest player to have featured in the Champions League is Youssoufa Moukoko, a striker who played for Borussia Dortmund in a group-stage game against Zenit St. Petersburg in December 2020 just 18 days after his 16th birthday.

Yamal was 16 years and 68 days old when he made his Champions League debut at home to Antwerp in September 2023.

Here's what Arsenal says about him

It's not just Arteta who has been bigging up Dowman.

“I think everyone can see the potential he has," Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber said after the Leeds game. “Playing against grown men. He is a joy to watch, for the crowd, too, he is a joy to watch.”

In March, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice described Dowman as “unreal” but insisted: ”You can be the best 15-year-old in the country, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be at 18. So, you need to be hungry, keep working and keep pushing."

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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this story.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer