Rio Ferdinand hypes up 14-year-old Arsenal academy star: ‘He’s a bad player’

'I saw him coaching 18 and 19-year-olds on the pitch when he was playing with them.'

Nov 12, 2024 - 11:00

Rio Ferdinand hypes up 14-year-old Arsenal academy star: ‘He’s a bad player’

Max Dowman of Arsenal takes on Thomas Berenbruch of Inter during the UEFA Youth League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between FC Internazionale Milano and Arsenal FC at Konami Youth Development Center on November 06, 2024 in Milan, Italy — Max Dowman is highly regarded in Arsenal’s academy (Getty)

Rio Ferdinand has tipped Max Dowman to become the next Arsenal academy star to break into Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad.

The 14-year-old is regarded as one of Arsenal’s brightest academy prospects and he even trained with Arteta’s squad last weekend before their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

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

Ethan Nwaneri is already making a strong case for more first-team minutes having impressed since making the jump from Arsenal’s academy, and Ferdinand believes Dowman is on the same path to making a similar impact.

‘This isn’t to add pressure on these young players because I don’t want to do that, but I was just a bit disappointed in Arteta not giving Nwaneri a bit more of a chance,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents’.

Max Dowman trained with Arsenal's first-team squad before their draw with Chelsea at the weekend — Max Dowman trained with Arsenal’s first-team squad before their draw with Chelsea at the weekend (Getty)

‘I saw him come on the other day against Inter, not only looking dangerous, he takes the ball, retains the ball, looks after it, plays like an adult. He plays that Odegaard position.

‘They’ve got another one under him by the way, a kid call Max Dowman. Please go online and check out this kid.

‘He was 14, I saw him coaching 18 and 19-year-olds on the pitch when he was playing with them. And he plays a little bit in that Odegaard position as well, bad player.’

Owen Hargreaves added: ‘He’s different. I’ve seen him, they’re super excited.’

Speaking before leaving 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.’

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