Arsenal Told To Send Max Dowman Out On Loan To 'Toughen Him Up'

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Mikel Arteta could get the best out of Arsenal wonderkid with loan move

Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley believes Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman should make the move north of the border to "toughen him up".

Dowman became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history when he scored against Everton in March aged 16 years and 73 days old.

The 16-year-old already has seven Premier League appearances under his belt, and scored a brace in the Carabao Cup win over Ipswich earlier this month, making it three goals and one assist in 15 appearances for the Arsenal senior team.

He is the latest in a long list of players to emerge from the Hale End production line and will be looking to step up and get more minutes under his belt under Mikel Arteta as the season progresses.

However, Hateley believes Dowman would do well to follow in the footsteps of Mikey Moore, who made the loan move from Arsenal's fierce north London rivals Tottenham last season to play on loan with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Moore, 17 when he joined the Gers, played 47 times across all competitions for the Ibrox outfit, racking up 2,778 minutes of game time, scoring seven goals and laying on four assists.

Big things are expected of Dowman, but with Arsenal winning the Premier League last season and adding to their squad in the summer transfer window, he has a lot of more senior players to get past to secure a regular spot in the first team under Arteta.

And Hateley thinks a loan move would benefit him.

Speaking to NetBet Casino , he said: "If Max Dowman looks at what Mikey Moore did last year, he was transformed, and I think he sings praises for how Rangers looked after him and his parents.

> "Max is in a similar situation. Danny Rohl found a way to play him and get the best out of Mikey Moore at Rangers. I think Derek McInnes would see the good habits he brings from Arsenal, and hopefully he would have a similar impact to what Mikey did from January onwards.

> “That's what football is crying out for now: ball carriers. Players like Paul Gascoigne, who carry the ball forward and release players ahead of them. I think Max is a similar sort of player, and the game time would do him a lot of good."

Coming up to Scotland would toughen him up.

Dowman has his whole career ahead of him but extraordinary comparisons have already been made, despite his tender years.

Speaking on TalkSport after his record-breaking goal, former West Ham and Newcastle boss Alan Pardew said: "He is an exceptional talent because once he gets to full speed, he just moves defenders with a slight move of his body.

> “Only great players can do that. Johan Cruyff could do that, George Best could do that, [Lionel] Messi can obviously do that. Dowman has got that ability, when he has the ball, to baffle defenders just with a slight movement of his body.”

Max Dowman was absent in Arsenal's first training session since their Premier League title triumph.

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