Arsenal: Mikel Arteta hails 'massive' Max Dowman after teenager breaks Champions League record

Starlet has hit the ground running in the first-team fold

Mikel Arteta has said that Max Dowman is a “massive player” for Arsenal after the teenager broke a Champions League record.

The young forward became the youngest ever player to play in Europe’s top competition, at just 15 years and 308 days, beating Youssoufa Moukoko’s five-year record, where the German played at 16 years and 18 days for Borussia Dortmund.

He stepped off the bench in the Gunners’ 3-0 win at Slavia Prague , that put the north Londoners top of the Champions League table.

Dowman, who has broken into the Arsenal first-team fold this term, starred in pre-season and is billed for a big future, and he demonstrated his ability on the biggest stage on Tuesday.

"The way he plays, he attracts a lot of contact,” Arteta said of his wonderkid.

“He is so good at timing the right moment to move the ball. We have a massive player there."

Dowman made his European bow off the bench in Prague, replacing Leandro Trossard. He was positioned on the right flank, forcing captain and talisman Bukayo Saka to shift to the left.

On TNT Sports commentary, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown suggested that it could be a “look into the future” of the Gunners’ front three, although star striker Viktor Gyokeres was not involved after suffering a hamstring injury in the win at Burnley.

It is the second record that Dowman has broken in the space of a week, having become the youngest ever starter for Arsenal after he was picked from the get-go against Brighton in the Carabao Cup.