Declan Rice says there's a young player at Arsenal everyone should keep an eye on this season
Arsenal have made a habit of developing incredible young players.
The Gunners have always had a great academy, but over the last decade, they have developed some magnificent talents.
Bukayo Saka is, of course, the biggest of them all, but the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri are outstanding and have a massive future ahead of them.
There are many others too, and Declan Rice has name-checked one of them.
Declan Rice says Max Dowman is the Arsenal young player to watch this season
Max Dowman had his breakthrough year at Arsenal last season.
The teenager made his senior debut at the age of 15, and he impressed at almost every opportunity he was given.
Dowman is now fully a first-team player at Arsenal, and the expectation is that he will get even more game time this campaign.
That is really exciting if you’re a Gooner, especially after seeing how impressive he was in pre-season.
Rice, who knows a thing or two about coming through the academy ranks and turning into a superstar, seems to have high hopes for Dowman.
At the PFA Awards, the Arsenal number 41 spoke to Goal Fan Zone, where he was asked to name the young player everyone should keep an eye on in the Premier League this season.
He replied: “Max Dowman or Rio Ngumoha.”
Max Dowman may have a bigger role to play at Arsenal than many think
Even though Dowman is expected to get more minutes than he did last season, he starts the season as the club’s third choice.
Saka and Noni Madueke are both ahead of him in the pecking order on the right wing, while Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze are much more established number 10s.
However, we still think there is room for Dowman to nail down a regular spot.
Madueke was not great at all against Manchester City in the Community Shield, and even though he was much better off the bench against Coventry, he has got to do a lot more.
If the Englishman doesn’t, we think Dowman could leapfrog him in the pecking order in the coming months and play a lot more than expected.
