Arsenal youth coach claims Gunners teen will play for England

Arsenal academy assistant coach Gustavo Oliveira believes Gunners youngster Max Dowman will eventually play for England and in the Premier League.

Brazilian Gustavo Oliveira works with the Arsenal academy as an assistant coach in the u9 to u14 age groups, meaning he’s spent quite a bit of time working with youth prospect Max Dowman.

Though Dowman is just 14 years old, he’s made himself a regular in the Arsenal u18s this season, and he’s also made his debut for the England u17s.

Oliveira is convinced the midfielder will eventually make it to the top level in professional football.

“He plays in the style of Kaká,” Oliveira told PL Brasil of Dowman. “He can mark his name. One day he will play for the England national team and in the Premier League.”

More than just appearing for the Arsenal u18s and England u17s, Dowman has been impressing at those levels.

The youngster has two assists in his last three games with the u18s, he scored for the u19s in a UEFA Youth League game away to Atalanta in September, and he also scored on his England u17 debut last month.

There’s still a long way to go for Dowman to get himself in contention for senior appearances with Arsenal and England, as you’d expect from a 14-year-old.

The gap from u18 football to u21 football is a big one, let alone the step up from there into the senior game.

But Dowman will be pleased to see that there’s a pathway for him to keep making progress at Arsenal. Seeing Ethan Nwaneri making his debut at 15 and his first start for the Gunners last month should help too.