Max Dowman at the double to match Wayne Rooney record in Arsenal win

On a day of tumult for another of English football's most highly-rated young teenagers, Arsenal's Max Dowman continued to go from strength to strength.

Multiple reports on Tuesday claimed Manchester United had been rocked by 15-year-old sensation JJ Gabriel and his handlers expressing a desire to leave the club.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are purportedly among those circling, in a scene far removed from the progress of Arsenal's next big thing.

Dowman became both the youngest Premier League goalscorer and title winner of all time last term, and the 16-year-old's first start of the 2026-27 season did nothing to calm expectations.

MORE: Viktor Gyokeres problem explained as former Arsenal striker questions Mikel Arteta fit

Dowman matches Rooney record in Arsenal win over Ipswich.

Gabriel was seemingly earmarked to play a part for United against Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before the furore over his future placed a 15-year-old child at the centre of considerable media attention.

Dowman was able to simply get on with playing football and scored two fine goals in Arsenal's 4-2 win at Ipswich in round three.

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 15, 2026

Those exploits meant he was just the second 16-year-old to score two goals for a Premier League team in a competitive match.

The first was Wayne Rooney, who did so for Everton against Wrexham in the same competition in October 2002.

As per Opta, Arsenal now have the three youngest scorers in the League Cup for a Premier League team, with Dowman at 16 years and 258 days slotting in between Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 15, 2026

What did Mikel Arteta say about Max Dowman?

Discussion of Dowman's performance dominated Mikel Arteta's post-match press conference and the Arsenal manager was happy to heap praise on ever aspect of his protege's performance.

"That's something very natural for him, and he can deliver those actions effortlessly," Arteta said. "That's his biggest quality. And defensively, his application, his capacity as well to sustain the actions, which is not easy.

"He's 16 years old, and he can create moments, but consistently to go through the game, every phase, with the demands that we put on [the players], to be able to do that is extremely difficult. And he's coping better and better and better.

"He did the action where he regained the ball and wins it. In the first goal, he loses his man. And that's the thing that we need to continue to reiterate with him, because he's an unbelievable player because of the character that he has and how much he loves to play on the biggest stage and still handle the situation with such naturality."

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 15, 2026

Will Max Dowman play in the Premier League?

Such performances are only likely to increase the clamour for Dowman to get more minutes in the Premier League.

Nevertheless, Arteta suggested he will continue to use the fledgling star sparingly, while also highlighting the particular physical demands that the Premier League places on young players.

"If he does what he does on the pitch, it's not easy [to control the hype] but what we have to do is look after him," he said. "He's 16 years old. You don't see that in this league. In other leagues in Europe, that's a totally different context. But in this league, with the demands that the league [has], the players and everything put on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he's in the right context with the right preparation. That's what we are trying to do.

"It's not just that he can run past somebody. There are a lot more things that we need to look after him. But he will dictate that in terms of how he behaves every single day and how many reasons he gives to play because he's part of our squad. Like anybody else, no different. The only thing that we have to manage is that he needs to constantly be aware that he needs to be prepared for what he needs to do."