Max Dowman's three Arsenal mentors identified as Gunners plot next steps for wonderkid

Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard is among the three major names helping teenage sensation Max Dowman navigate his way into the first-team. The Norwegian's own rapid rise has allowed him to part with the wisdom he learnt early in his career.

Dowman has not yet sat his GCSEs but the 15-year-old sensation has risen through the ranks and made several appearances for the Gunners this term. He came off the bench at Liverpool and in a late cameo won a penalty in the rout against Leeds.

Arsenal are looking to their senior figures to help Dowman continue his rise, particularly with so many eyes on the youngster. Odegaard himself had much of Europe eyeing him as a teenager. He was just 15 when he made his debut for Norway - five months later he signed for Real Madrid.

The Norwegian has spoken to Dowman about life in the spotlight at a young age and has made it clear his support is always there, reports the Evening Standard. Dowman coming through the academy at his boyhood club has also seen Bukayo Saka come to aid him whilst Declan Rice has been a vocal supporter.

Rice has publicly championed Dowman and claimed he is “the best 15-year-old in the country”. He has taken Dowman under his wing, meaning the teenage sensation can lean on the ex-West Ham man, Odegaard and Saka - three of the club's biggest names.

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Dowman having to juggle his professional aspirations and his education have continued to blow Rice's mind, but he's been hugely impressed with how he's carrying himself. The England midfielder said: “I’ve never seen a 15-year-old so comfortable around the first team. I said to Max on the way back from pre-season tour, I couldn’t get my head around that he was going back to school.”

Dowman’s unique situation of being in the first-team squad at the age of 15 makes things harder, partly down to safeguarding issues which mean he cannot even get ready in the same changing room as his senior colleagues. But Arteta has explained how the club are making it work.

“We need to change his times, we need to change his education, probably his allocation and where he is with his family,” he said. “His diet is different, his sleep patterns become different, the training load is different, the amount of information, pressure and exposure is different.”

Arteta has shown he can be hugely influential when it comes to the rise of academy graduates. Saka as well as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have all continued to blossom under the Spanish coach.

The Arsenal boss has compared Dowman’s situation to that of Saka when he first broke into the first team. The winger was regularly targeted by opponents and Arteta and his staff are working on ways to protect the latest teenage star, who has a target on his back and all eyes on him.

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