Rio Ferdinand fears one of Arsenal’s most influential players under Mikel Arteta will be looking for a new club in the near future following Max Dowman’s stunning breakthrough.
The 16-year-old announced himself in superb fashion on Saturday evening, coming to his side’s rescue against Everton with a match-winning cameo slotted in with the scores level and just a quarter of an hour remaining.
Dowman continued to take control of the game and it was his cross that helped create the chaos that led to Viktor Gyokeres breaking the deadlock with time ticking towards the 90th minute.
It couldn’t have been better for the Hale End Academy graduate who became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal’s history moments later when he rounded two defenders, raced the length of the pitch and rolled the ball into an empty net with Jordan Pickford stranded on the pitch.
Dowman looks set to feature more prominently in the coming weeks as Arsenal eye all four of the top prizes on offer, but Ferdinand fears the teenager’s emergence could impact Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.
The Norway international has been on the fringes this season due to injury, but Dowman’s breakthrough will only make competition for places in Arsenal’s midfield tighter up front.
“You know Odegaard might not get a game now,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel when considering the impact of Dowman’s moment of maturity on the more established members of Arteta’s squad.
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‘Seriously, your captain is probably gone. There is Dowman who can play his position, Eze can play his position. Saka can play his position and get in there and be central. This is crazy.
“Saka will have a bigger season next year than this year, believe me, in terms of statistics and data. This year he is down.’
Asked how Arteta should use his latest attacking weapon during the game, Ferdinand added: “Just continue what he’s been doing this week.
‘Dipping it in, keep giving it 15 or 20 minutes. Keep bringing him in because nothing can replace that confidence and what he can do as an injection of energy into your team.’
Odegaard, meanwhile, is battling to regain full fitness after missing the last five games with a knee injury he aggravated against Brentford last month.
The Arsenal captain has been ruled out of tomorrow night’s Champions League last-16 second leg against Bayer Leverkusen, but Arteta hinted he is unlikely to feature in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
Arteta said: ‘So we are really trying, he really wants to try to be available, but we have to wait and see in the next few days when he trains with the team how he feels.
“We know the game we have to play in a few days, and the more players we have, the better.”
Odegaard himself knows a thing or two about becoming a star at such a young age, remembering the hype that accompanied his debut for his boyhood club, prior to his move to Real Madrid.
Asked about the role he could play in keeping Dowman grounded, Arteta said: “All the experience the players have and they can share and explain.
“It’s very useful because maybe he’s experienced things that some of us in the past would have experienced things at his age, not many, but Martin is a really good example.
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