Arsenal are a club with a proud history of developing and promoting young talent.
During his time in the dugout, Mikel Arteta has more than done his part to continue that tradition, with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka all getting serious runs in the team under him.
The latest batch of youngsters to come through are perhaps the most exciting in a long time, with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri now permanent fixtures in the first team squad and Max Dowman sure to follow suit as the season goes on.
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However, Arsenal are clearly looking to bring in young talent from elsewhere as well, and Andrea Berta has already overseen the signing of a teen phenom who could be another Dowman.
Why Dowman is such an exciting prospect
The most successful academy gem Arsenal have produced in the last couple of decades is undoubtedly Saka, as the 24-year-old has already made 285 appearances for the club since his debut.
However, there is a genuine belief among those in the know that Dowman could go on to be an even bigger star than the club’s current talisman.
Don’t just take our word for it, though, as early last season, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig made the bold claim that the then-14-year-old was the “most exciting prospect” he had seen “since Lamine Yamal.”
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As if that wasn’t enough, Hale End expert Will Balsam then described the teenager as “one of the greatest footballing brains that’s ever come through Hale End” and “the biggest talent in England.”
That is certainly a lot of praise for someone so young, but the Chelmsford-born gem would more than justify it over the season, as he racked up a tally of 19 goals and five assists in 23 appearances, totalling 1945 minutes last season.
Such an incredible rate of return for someone so young saw Arteta take him on the pre-season tour, where he played against Newcastle United, a game in which analyst Ben Mattinson pointed out that he “hasn’t even done his GCSE’s but he’s humiliating Premier League players.”
The impressive achievements kept coming into the season proper, as he made his Premier League debut against Leeds United, became the club’s youngest starter and also the youngest player in Champions League history.
In all, the hype might sound hyperbolic, but it’s not, and so Arsenal fans should be seriously excited about the fact that Berta may have just signed the club another Dowman-like talent.
Arsenal’s new Dowman
Since being appointed as the club’s Sporting Director, Berta has been ambitious and aggressive with his transfer dealings.
He oversaw eight additions to the first team in the summer and has now also helped secure two of the most exciting youngsters in world football.
Earlier this month, Arsenal announced that they had signed Edwin and Holger Quintero from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle, and that, once they were 18 years old in 2027, they’d join the team.
Both youngsters are hugely exciting prospects, but it’s Edwin who could be another Dowman.
One of the reasons for this is that, in the words of Mattinson, he is a wide player who has “the ability to run games and create something out of nothing.”