Wayne Rooney is excited by the potential of Arsenal teenage sensation Max Dowman but does not expect to see ‘much of him’ during the Premier League run-in.
Dowman, 16, became the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer when he netted Arsenal’s second in a 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday.
The Gunners, hoping to win their first league title since 2004, looked set to drop two points at home to Everton but late goals from Viktor Gyokeres and Dowman clinched another crucial win.
With Manchester City failing to beat relegation-battlers West Ham later in the day, Arsenal now find themselves nine points clear at the top of the Premier League with seven games remaining.
Arsenal fans are understandably excited by Dowman, who made his Premier League debut back in August, and are hoping to see more of the England U19 star as the Gunners chase an unprecedented quadruple.
As well as leading the title race, Mikel Arteta’s side are in the knockout stages of the Champions League, next weekend’s Carabao Cup final and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
It has been suggested that Dowman could have a big role to play for Arsenal in those four competitions but Rooney believes his game-time and development will be carefully managed.
‘He has got his GCSEs and his education, I’m sure for him and his family, that’s important as well,’ the former Manchester United and England captain said on The Wayne Rooney Show.
‘What an opportunity for him to be around the squad. He could be a Premier League winner when he’s still finishing school off.
‘He’s got an aura and a belief about him and it was the same against Everton. If it’s education first, I don’t think we’ll see much of him over the next few weeks.
‘He won’t be in as much as he’d probably like, but then you’ve got many years ahead of you.’
Discussing Dowman’s ability, Rooney added: ‘He seems, from the games I’ve watched, to not let that pressure affect him.
‘He gets the ball, he holds on to it, he commits defenders, he goes to take them on, and so he definitely looks like he’s got a confidence about him.
‘Mikel Arteta, some of the senior players in the Arsenal squad, will not let him get ahead of himself. But I think you have to enjoy it as well.
‘Sometimes people think that enjoying success is arrogant and I just think they do it in the [USA]. They enjoy it and they celebrate it.
‘So when we’ve got a young lad like that coming through as a 16-year-old, he’s clearly got a lot of ability and you just hope he can go and fulfil that potential.
‘Let him enjoy it and go and express himself.’
£64m striker Gyokeres was among those to heap praise on Dowman after his match-winning contribution against Everton.
‘When you see him play, you don’t think that he’s 16,’ Gyokeres said. ‘You don’t think about it when he has the ball with the composure and the confidence he plays with.
‘It’s incredible – to see him score that goal was amazing. He’s been developing.
‘He got an injury and was out for a while so I didn’t see him for a few months, but now he’s back and he’s playing still with the confidence that he did before.
‘He makes a lot of right decisions when he comes on the pitch. He’s an incredible and very good player.’
Arsenal put their Premier League title charge on pause this week as attentions turn to the Champions League and a second-leg last-16 clash against Bayer Leverkusen.
Arteta’s side were not at their best in the first leg in Germany but Kai Havertz’s late penalty earned the Premier League leaders a 1-1 draw against his former side.