"He just does what he does best, which is to play football" - Mikel Arteta hails 'special' Arsenal star's showing in win over Brighton

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta lauded youngster Max Dowman after their 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates on Wednesday, October 29. He said that the Englishman has shown great skill, adding that it comes naturally to him.

Dowman became the youngest-ever player to start a game for Arsenal during their EFL Cup Fourth Round clash against Brighton. The winger, aged 15 years and 302 days at the time, delivered an excellent performance as well. He completed 14/16 passes, completed 5/8 dribble attempts, and won 9/14 duels (via SofaScore).

He was subbed off in the 71st minute, with the Gunners winning 2-0. After the game, Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Dowman, saying (h/t Metro):

"For him everything is natural, for him everything is okay, it’s the way he plays. I think that’s the secret, that he doesn’t make a big fuss of it."He just does what he does best, which is to play football, to play football with a lot of courage and determination, and today again he’s shown some incredible skill, some capacity to run past players at that level in the Premier League at 15. It’s something definitely special."

Ethan Nwaneri opened the scoring for Arsenal against Brighton in the 57th minute before Bukayo Saka made it 2-0 in the 76th minute.

---

Mikel Arteta on managing Max Dowman's minutes amidst excellent displays for Arsenal

Max Dowman made his full senior debut for Arsenal on Wednesday but has already made four senior appearances, providing an assist. However, the club's coaching staff are cautious about his exposure to senior football. He has often been sent to the U21 side to play regularly.

Mikel Arteta was asked if Dowman will now look for more regular minutes after his impressive performances. He answered:

"For sure, if you ask him, for sure. That’s what we have to manage and not only that, there’s a lot of things that are new in his life, we discussed that I think a few days ago. "Make sure that he does the right steps, that he behaves and accepts because this is going to go this one, then he’s going to play in a different team, and he needs to cope with all that because it’s happening very, very fast, and we all need to be aware of that. Let’s encourage him to keep going that way, but let’s protect him as well," he added.

Arsenal have been drawn against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup quarter-finals. The Eagles beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield in their Fourth Round clash.

Edited by Aditya Singh