Max Dowman: This special quality means Arsenal teen will make INSTANT impact, Gary Neville says

Arsenal’s Max Dowman became just the third player under the age of 16 to play in the Premier League as the Gunners thumped Leeds 5-0, and Gary Neville picked out the quality that means he can make an immediate impact.

Dowman replaced Noni Madueke after 64th-minute of the clash at the Emirates Stadium and wasted little time in making an impression on his professional debut, winning the penalty that led to Viktor Gyokeres’ netting the final goal in stoppage-time.

Playing off the right, the 15-year-old was quick, direct and positive, but there was one particular quality that had Sky Sports pundit particularly excited about his contribution.

Neville stunned by Dowman quality

Dowman tangled with Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, winning a free kick, and Neville was astonished with the way he was able to match the Sweden international in a physical capacity.

“That’s the one thing you may expect he would struggle with, his strength, up against effectively men,” Neville said of the incident.

“He’s got lovely balance about him, you can see that. That’s a real shoulder-to-shoulder battle with Gudmundsson. It’s Gudmundsson who ends up on the floor first. That little turn, you’d expect that type of technical ability, but this arm-in-arm and that strength at length that wingers have to have sometimes.

“They can be wiry when you look at them, but they have really strong balance, and he’s got those qualities. You can see that from that run.”

Dowman became Arsenal’s second-youngest Premier League player as he featured aged 15 and 235 days, with only club-mate Ethan Nwaneri having featured younger than him, having played 15 years and 181 days.

Both finished this particular encounter, and with Bukayo Saka limping off injured to join Kai Havertz on the injury list, it appears that the Gunners could be calling upon both more regularly in the weeks ahead.

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