Max Dowman: Why young players like Arsenal's 15-year-old can compete with adults earlier and earlier

New York Times

2 days ago

Max Dowman has had several months to get used to the intensifying attention, since word began to spread about his exploits in leapfrogging multiple age groups at Arsenal. But over the past 10 days in Asia, the dial has spun into overdrive. Captivating cameos against Milan, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur have proved his capacity to influence games at the age of 15.
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The pre-season tour is a wonderful opportunity for a young player to make an impression, on and off the pitch, and can be key to the development pathway plans constructed by Mikel Arteta and the coaching staff. To travel and live around the team is a big step. But the experience gained by Dowman and fellow 15-year-old Marli Salmon is exceptional.
These are rare feats for players so young. Simply being around the first team at London Colney is extraordinary. Then to be promoted to the summer tour party and, on top of that, trusted to perform in adult matches with a significant audience and unstoppable level of attention is astonishing.
Arsenal have older options in the academy that they might have brought along, but Dowman and Salmon are not following the normal progression patterns. They are special cases requiring distinctive treatment.
One of the most interesting aspects of their challenge is the physical test. Psychological and tactical elements are key, particularly having the confidence and courage for self-expression on the pitch, but Dowman and Salmon are cruising around against fully grown opponents without an obvious disadvantage in speed of movement or withstanding the force of a tackle.
This was also notable last season in the performances of fellow Hale End graduates Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, who made multiple appearances in their breakout seasons even before they were considered old enough to change in the dressing rooms alongside their older team-mates.
High-performance sports science methodology in academies is having an impact. This branch of athlete support is fairly new for younger players, who are growing up in a culture of elite preparation.
Des Ryan was the head of academy sports medicine and athletic development at Arsenal for almost a decade between 2012 and 2021 and has seen firsthand how it is helping youngsters progress.
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'There have been huge advances,' Ryan says. 'Now there's a high level of support around them from a young age. The level of strength, power, technique, range of motion, explosiveness gradually increases. You can do more advanced content at a younger age, and it leads to well-developed players at a younger age.
'In good-quality academies, young players have been learning their fundamental movement skills in the foundation phase, gaining good-quality physical literacy, getting ready to do athletic development exercises, stepping into the gym at under-12. Then, from under-13, doing good-quality strength and conditioning in the gym environment.
'The benefits of strength and conditioning are fantastic in terms of power, speed, strength and recoverability. For young players, it's part of their routine and it's what they always knew. It's part of their culture now, which wasn't the case before. It's slightly different to the previous generation of players and they benefit from it.'
Ryan works at the University of Galway these days and consults at Brentford's academy. While providing the context of advances in youth development, he still believes that what Dowman and Salmon are showing is exceptional.
'Any 15-year-old players playing at adult level is still extraordinary,' he says. 'That's still amazing. That's something that needs to be carefully managed. But it's a credit to their coaches, to their sports science support, sports medicine, psychology, nutrition, performance analysis.'
In general, academy players invited to join the pre-season tour are chosen to make up the numbers for training, fill in the gaps in matches, to help fine-tune the first team. That is the primary purpose. Not everyone gets game time.
Opportunity knocks louder for some than others, and there is usually more scope in a pre-season that follows international tournaments. Using last summer as an example, David Raya, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and William Saliba had extended holidays because their nations went far in the European Championship. The Brazilian contingent were late back because of the Copa America.
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Those gaps in the squad gave a bunch of youngsters a taste of the first-team tour experience and 11 academy players travelled on the United States tour a year ago. A few were already in their twenties and regarded more as training players than prospects who were ever likely to have a senior career at the club. Others were under greater scrutiny, including three 17-year-olds who have all made strides since — Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, and Ayden Heaven, who moved to Manchester United in January.
This summer, there has been no major men's international tournament, so the club can be a little more selective about who comes on tour.
There is considerable thought about how talents, including Dowman and Salmon, are guided through, and when new experiences are considered best timed to aid their rise into senior football.
Arsene Wenger, speaking in his role as FIFA's chief of global development, believes the most advanced young players are ready to make an impact earlier than ever. 'We see a trend in the world that the biggest five leagues in the world play more and more young players,' he said at FIFA's congress in May. 'In the national teams as well. The trend is that young players get a chance earlier.'
Wenger was not afraid to do it himself, notably giving debuts to Nicolas Anelka and Cesc Fabregas, who proved to be elite Premier League influences at 17. Wenger also contemplated Lamine Yamal breaking records. 'It's the first time we see a player who has 100 games at 17 years of age in the history of the game. So that means players are ready earlier. Why? Because they start earlier. We see the trend all over the world is to get football schools earlier and earlier. In some countries, they start at three years old now.'
It may become more common, but the wider football world must remember that these are still very young people, entitled to the space and safety to grow as human beings even if their talent propels them into the limelight.
As Ryan says, 'Behind the scenes, there's very careful management with safeguarding, with mentors, with extra sessions, with GCSEs (exams) and education still to be done. It's a different life from the adult professional player — because they're not adults.
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'But they're used to the hard work and the majority of them really, really enjoy it.' That is a necessary thought. As teenagers in a highly unusual position, it matters that they are still able to savour these moments.