Arsenal call up 14-year-old wonderkid in training before Chelsea clash

Arsenal included 14-year-old Max Dowman in their first-team training session before their Premier League clash against Chelsea on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s side are looking to get back on track after suffering back-to-back defeats away to Newcastle United and Inter.

The Gunners currently sit 10 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League and a defeat at Stamford Bridge on Sunday would put another huge dent in their title ambitions.

Arteta and his players were making their final preparations ahead of the game against Chelsea and Dowman was a surprise inclusion among the first-team squad.

The 14-year-old midfielder is highly regarded by Arsenal’s academy and is widely tipped to eventually make his breakthrough into the senior squad.

In September, Dowman made history by becoming the youngest-ever goalscorer in the UEFA Youth League.

Speaking before he left Arsenal’s academy to join Norwich City’s first-team coaching staff, Jack Wilshere said of Dowman: ‘There’s always a concern when fielding such a young player in these matches, but if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.

‘He can be more consistent but he’s only 14 and hasn’t even started his GCSEs yet.

‘We need to find a balance of letting him play and enjoy because of his age but also trying to get as much work into him as we can.’

Declan Rice was not seen in the video release of Arsenal’s training session on Saturday as he continues to recover from a broken toe.

Asked whether Rice will be able to play against Chelsea, Arteta said on Friday: ‘I have to be very vague on that one because there’s no clarity on whether he’s going to be fit for the weekend.

‘What I can say is that he hasn’t trained yet and it is not clear whether he’s going to be available or not to play.’

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