Arsenal played Tottenham in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, and it’s fair to say this wasn’t a game for the ages.
Indeed, Arsenal lost 1-0 to Spurs in what was a rather drab game as most players didn’t play brilliantly.
Max Dowman has been fantastic during pre-season so far for Arsenal, and, once again, against Spurs he was bright.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Adrian Clarke has been discussing Dowman’s performance against Tottenham, and he noticed something particularly interesting about the 15-year-old.
Indeed, according to Clarke, both Martin Odegaard and William Saliba were continuously passing the ball to Dowman.
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty ImagesWilliam Saliba kept passing to Max Dowman
Clarke noted how often Dowman was receiving the ball from both Saliba and Odegaard, two of Arsenal’s most senior players.
This is a real sign of how much Arsenal’s squad already rate Dowman in that he’s already trusted as an outlet by both the club captain and arguably the club’s most valuable player.
“Max Dowman, when he came off the bench, no surprise there he looked lively. He put in a beautiful cross to Zinchenko, they kept feeding him the ball, Odegaard and Saliba, they kept giving the ball to Max Dowman. He was as positive as you’d expect him to be,” Clarke said.
What Martin Odegaard has said about Max Dowman
Odegaard and Saliba clearly rate Dowman as a player, and Odegaard has already hailed the youngster for his quality.
Indeed, Odegaard has praised both Dowman and Marli Salmon for the ability they have shown at such young ages.
“I think to be fair I think the whole squad is really good in this way to help the young players,” Odegaard said, via ESPN.
“With those two they’re so young and have so much quality. I think myself I just try to share my experience, guide them in the right direction, help them to keep the right mindset because you can see that the quality is obviously there.
“[I’m] just trying to help them to have the right mindset and to help them feel good in the team and to kind of let them shine and do their thing. They’ve been amazing on this tour and you can also see the quality. So yeah, it’ll be exciting to see in the future.”
Odegaard is a brilliant role model for any young player coming through, and if Dowman follows his lead, he shouldn’t go too far wrong.