Max Dowman is Arsenal's future as teenage sensation bamboozles Manchester United | OneFootball

Brave Gunners on wrong side of result in FA Youth Cup thriller, but 15-year-old midfielder more than justifies the massive hype

Superstar in the making: Max Dowman was by far the best player on the pitch for Arsenal against Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup

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Despite only turning 15 in December, there has been plenty of hype around the potential of Arsenal’s Max Dowman - and on Friday night he showed what all the fuss is about.

The midfielder scored the Gunners’ second goal after a driving run from well inside his own half resulted in him being brought down for a penalty.

Dowman stepped up and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to the delight of the 7,500 fans at the Emirates Stadium.

Many of them, one suspects, had come down on a Friday night to catch a glimpse of Dowman, who has been a popular name among Arsenal fans over the past six months.

Despite being only 14 at the start of this season, he has trained with the first team and was even part of the squad that headed to Dubai earlier this month for warm-weather training.

The records have tumbled for Dowman during his youth career and he plays two years up for England’s U17 side.

He made his debut for Arsenal U21s earlier this season and, at 14 years old, became the youngest player in the club’s history to play at that level.

In September, he became the youngest player in history to score in the UEFA Youth League by netting Arsenal’s only goal in a 4-1 loss to Atalanta at the age of 14 years, eight months and 19 days.

Mikel Arteta hinted earlier this month that Dowman would have made his first-team debut by now, but competition rules state players in matchday squads cannot be from a lower age group than the U16s. Dowman was named in Arsenal’s U15 squad at the start of this season.

“We had Max, we had many other kids as well there [in Dubai],” said Arteta. “It was a big opportunity for us to see them in our environment.

“It’s clear the rules on age and restrictions at the moment and very difficult to change that as well.”

Arteta was glowing in his praise of Dowman earlier this season during a press conference, describing what he does in training as “unbelievable”.

“He’s a player with huge talent and we have a lot of belief that we can develop him to become one of our own,” said Arteta.

“He’s taking very fast steps because every time you put him in a different challenge, a different level, he overcomes that hurdle really quickly which is great.”

Dowman rose to the challenge here, helping a young Arsenal team punch above their weight against a strong Manchester United side.

The Gunners had a young team out, which included fellow 15-year-old Marli Salmon at centre-back.

He caught the eye too, but it was Dowman who stood out. One flick in the first half left three United players for dead. A pass from inside his own half cut open the defence and only Ceadach O’Neill’s finish denied him what would have been a great assist.

Dowman was three years younger than some players on the pitch, but he was able to drive and carry the ball well.

On more than one occasion, he was cynically brought down and eventually it resulted in him winning a penalty just before the hour mark.

Before that, the two sides had been level after Jack Fletcher’s opener for United was cancelled out by Louis Copley just before half-time.

Dowman’s penalty looked like being the winning goal, but United levelled with five minutes of normal time to go thanks to a great strike from Jaydan Kamason.

Dowman had a chance to win it for Arsenal in injury time after another driving run, however his shot was saved by Will Murdock.

The strength of the visitors’ bench told in extra time as two substitutes, Samuel Lusale and Bendito Mantato, combined to score the winning goal.