Arsenal midfielder Max Dowman has become the youngest player ever to score in a UEFA Youth League game. Dowman — aged 14 years, eight months, and 19 days — scored Arsenal Under-18s’ only goal in a 4-1 defeat to their Atalanta counterparts to become the competition’s youngest goalscorer since its inception in 2013.
Born on December 31, 2009, Dowman made his debut for Arsenal U18s in September 2023, aged 13. He made seven domestic youth league appearances last season, including a game against Fulham in which he provided four assists. The attacking midfielder has been a regular fixture for Jack Wilshere’s side this season despite being significantly younger than his team-mates. He made his debut for the England Under-17s in September and scored in a 5-0 victory over Mexico.
Wilshere told club media in March: “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 (Dowman) 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.”
Dowman’s feat follows in the footsteps of fellow teenage midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, who became the youngest-ever Premier League player after making his debut for Arsenal at the age of 15 during the 2022-23 campaign. The now 17-year-old has made three first-team appearances for the club since then, including being a late substitute in his side’s north London derby victory on Sunday.
A Record-Breaking Performance
The Gunners youngster started in his side’s European clash with Italian side Atalanta on Thursday evening. The game took place ahead of the two teams’ senior sides opening up their Champions League campaigns against each other later in the day.
The tournament sees under-19 sides coming up against each other, but Dowman was given the opportunity to impress at the age of just 14. And despite his side losing 4-1 to the Italians, on an individual level, he made a name for himself.
Dowman is now the youngest player in the history of the competition to find the net at just 14 years, 8 months, and 19 days old. Former Borussia Dortmund star Youssoufa Moukoko was the previous record holder after finding the net at 14 years, 11 months and three days old back in 2019.
It was not the only record that Dowman broke during his latest outing. He also became the youngest ever player to appear for Arsenal in the competition - beating out Kaylen Hinds who played who was just 15 when he appeared in 2013.
A Bright Future Ahead
Dowman has already made a major impression at London Colney, training with the Gunners first-team and the U18 side, while he was given the squad number 99 ahead of the current campaign. Arsenal youth coach Jack Wilshere previously backed him for a bright future after his under-18s debut aged 13. The former midfielder said: “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.”
Dowman will be aiming to extend his positive form in the UEFA Youth League when they next take on French giants Paris Saint-Germain in just under a fortnight’s time.
Looking Ahead
The Italian teams have started the UEFA Youth League well, as Inter beat Manchester City away, Atalanta flattened Arsenal 4-1, Juventus defeated PSV and Milan held Liverpool. The Champions League kicked off this week with its new format of 36 teams playing eight different opponents, four at home and four away. The change in format has also shuffled down to the UEFA Youth League and the Italian sides have had a very impressive Matchday 1.
Juventus saw off PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in Turin with a lone goal from Alfonso Montero, who is the 17-year-old son of former Juve defender and current Juventus Next Gen coach Paolo Montero. Milan did not win, holding Liverpool to a 0-0 draw, which was still a vast improvement on the senior squad’s 3-1 home loss. The Rossoneri reached the Final last season, losing to Olympiacos.
Perhaps the best result was for Inter, who shocked Manchester City’s kids 4-2 on English turf on Wednesday. Midfielder Thomas Berenbruch was the star with two goals, around a Matteo Lavelli penalty and Christos Alexiou tap-in. Manchester City’s two goals were both scored by Farid Alfa-Ruprecht.
Atalanta also have one of the best youth academies in Italy and proved it with a 4-1 triumph over Arsenal this afternoon. Pietro Comi, Candas Bah Novo Fiogbe, Federico Steffanoni and Nicolò Artesani completed the rout, although Max Dowman made history for Arsenal as the youngest ever player to score in the UEFA Youth League at just 14 years, eight months and 19 days. Bologna’s game with Shakhtar Donetsk had to be abandoned due to heavy rain on Wednesday, but was rescheduled for today and the Ukrainians emerged 4-3 winners. Tommaso Ebone, Alessandro De Luca and Lorenzo Menegazzo were on target for the hosts.
