The text message Arsenal coach sent to Ryan Giggs about Max Dowman
Max Dowman might just be the biggest talent to ever come out of the Arsenal academy.
The 16-year-old has already made his senior debut under Mikel Arteta, and he even contributed to the Gunners’ Premier League title win last season.
This isn’t a big surprise to Arsenal fans because they have known all about Dowman’s quality since he was as young as 13.
Even Ryan Giggs learned about him very early.
Ryan Giggs reveals text exchange with Arsenal coach about Max Dowman
Arsenal created a pathway for Max Dowman before he was even eligible to play in the Premier League.
Arteta had him training with the first team when he was just 14 years old, and it was clear to everyone at the time that he was an unbelievable talent.
Dowman played regularly under Jack Wilshere for the Arsenal U18s at the time, and he impressed everyone with his performances.
One display that caught everyone’s eye was against Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup. That’s where Giggs saw him for the first time.
“I’ve seen him, it was against United in the Youth Cup,” he told Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel.
“I hadn’t really seen him, I’d heard about him. And do you know what? He won the penalty and then took it against players two years above him.
“I played in the youth team two years above, and I’m just putting myself in that position, right?
“I’ve just won the pen, and I’m grabbing the ball and taking it. That’s not happening when I was in my youth team, there were players, big personalities.
“And that’s what stood out. I messaged Albert Stuivenberg (Arsenal’s assistant manager), who’s the coach there. I said, “Who’s this Max Dowman?” I said, “He looks unbelievable”.
He went, “He’s a special player”. That’s all he said. He said he’s a special player.
“Forget about the things that he did – he did an unbelievable run to win the penalty – but that is what really stood out for me; it’s like, ‘Give me the ball, I’m taking it’, at 15.”
Max Dowman could emulate Ryan Giggs at Arsenal
Giggs is one of the greatest players to ever play in the Premier League.
The Manchester United legend made his debut as a 17-year-old back in 1991 and went on to play 963 games for the Red Devils across 23 years. He won 35 trophies in total, including 13 league titles and two Champions League.
Dowman made his Arsenal debut at a younger age, is now in an Arsenal team who are favourites to dominate for many seasons, and could easily have 20 years left at the highest level.
David Seaman recently compared Dowman to Giggs, and we won’t be surprised at all if he goes on to emulate the Welsh icon over the next two decades.