Dowman was Arteta’s risk, but it paid off tremendously for Arsenal
LONDON — It’s the kind of player decision that wins titles. It’s also the kind of call many believe Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is incapable of making.
And yet, in the 72nd minute, with his team laboring 0-0 and the Emirates Stadium gradually sinking into despair, Arteta turned to 16-year-old Max Dowman for inspiration.
“I probably had a hunch in my head,” Arteta said. “Yesterday he was training for the last few days and I had a feeling it was a moment for him.
“Probably because he doesn’t seem to be bothered by the occasion, the moment, the context or the opponent. He just plays so naturally. He makes decisions to make things happen and what he delivered was incredible.”
Unbelievable was right. Dowman, in his seventh senior appearance and only his third Premier League game, turned the tide in a 2-0 victory. He may have changed the course of the entire season.
In the 89th minute, with Everton falling back, he delivered a devilish cross to the far post. Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford hadn’t made a mistake all day, but he couldn’t reach Dowman’s ball, allowing Piero Hincapié to tap the ball with his knee and head it towards Viktor Gyökeres for a strike.
Growing rage gave way to relief, which turned to pure joy minutes later when Arsenal cleared an Everton corner and Dowman beat Vitaliy Mykolenko and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – the latter as if he wasn’t there – to clear at goal with half the pitch completely unoccupied as Pickford was stranded high up the pitch.
In the swirl of noise all around him, Dowman drifted forward and slotted the ball into the empty net to claim three priceless points and become the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at 16 years and 73 days. Having already become the youngest player to play in the Champions League, he is now also the youngest player to score for Arsenal.
Historical moments sometimes only crystallize in hindsight. It seemed totemic in real time, subsequently sparking a rare Jürgen Klopp-style fist pump celebration from Arteta, shortly before praising the teenager who energized his faltering side.
“I think he created a different energy in the stadium,” Arteta said. “It’s not just the goal he scored. I think he changed the game.
“Every time he got the ball, he made things happen. It felt like we were more of a threat. To do that at that age, in that setting, with that pressure, it’s just not normal.
“[I said to him] “Go do your thing and win us the game.” And the same with Viktor and [Gabriel] Martinelli. I said these are the times in the season where something special has to happen, and he knows he has the ability, and I have to give him the opportunity, and he will do it.
“In my opinion, [Dowman’s goal] it felt like 45 seconds [long]. And I think that was really special because you could feel that he was building, building and you see there’s no goalie there, it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen.
“And everyone was lifting. It was incredible. It was so strong, so energetic. What a moment.”
Three of his five substitutes combined to open the scoring, and Gyökeres finally scored against a team from the top half of the table.
But the focus will inevitably fall on Dowman. Arsenal wanted to keep him a secret, given his age. Arteta’s reluctance to sack him was influenced by an understandable desire to protect a prodigious talent, but it is also testament to his coaching style, which favors the predictable, reliable and formulaic.
For long periods Everton were comfortable with this. They should have been ahead at half-time. Dwight McNeil hit the post and saw another shot blocked by Riccardo Calafiori who was lunging hopefully at the ball. Dewsbury-Hall also came close and in the second half Beto forced David Raya into an excellent save before substitute Thierno Barry headed slightly wide.
Arteta attempted to extend the delirious outcome beyond Dowman, citing the impact his replacements had throughout the season.
“Gabi [Magalhães], [Cristhian] Mosquera had to intervene when Jurriën [Timber] had gone out [injured during the first half] and I think that’s been the theme of the season,” Arteta said.
“I think the impact of the finalists that the players played is why we are here, basically. And that says a lot about the people that we have in the locker room because sometimes my decision, maybe they’re not good or they’re not fair, they take it the right way with one goal, which is to help the team win.”
Doubts remain over Arteta’s ability to rotate his team effectively, especially when they look so flat for much of the match as they did here.
It’s fair to say that some players are overused while others aren’t given enough time to establish a rhythm.
And yet, despite a series of stutters, they remain on track in all four competitions. Dowman’s day guarantees it. Time will tell whether this will go down in the annals of the Premier League alongside moments like Federico Macheda’s for Manchester United against Aston Villa in April 2009, a classic of Sir Alex Ferguson’s risk-taking genre.
But doing much more and using Dowman regularly won’t seem like a gamble at all.
