Can Max Dowman play in the Champions League for Arsenal? | OneFootball

Gunners’ teenage sensation is eyeing his next major milestone after Premier League debut

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

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Arsenal’s Champions League squad is set to be confirmed and many fans have been wondering about the status of a certain Max Dowman.

Leicester’s Jeremy Monga also made his top-flight bow against Newcastle in April aged 15 years and 271 days.

Indeed, such is the precocious teenager’s confidence and ability that Arteta also saw fit to introduce him again late on as Arsenal searched in vain for a last-gasp equaliser in their blockbuster clash with likely title rivals Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, while he later earned a promotion to England’s Under-19s squad, having previously shone at U16 and U17 level.

Dowman - who is only now entering his GCSE year at school - is eligible to be included in Premier League matchday squads with rules stating that players must have turned 15 by the end of the month the season begins, though he cannot sign a professional football contract until he turns 17, which isn’t until December 2026.

But with the deadline for league phase squad registration having passed on Tuesday night and their opening fixture against Athletic Club approaching fast, many Arsenal supporters have questioned - can their latest starboy play in the Champions League this season?

Can Max Dowman play in the Champions League for Arsenal?

The simple answer to the question is yes, he can. Standard Sport understands that there are no age limitations currently in place throughout UEFA competitions, meaning Dowman could play straightaway in the league phase this year and not have to wait until games in January, after he turns 16.

It would make him the youngest player ever to feature in the competition proper, taking the record currently held by former Borussia Dortmund forward Youssoufa Moukoko, with the likes of Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal and Rayan Cherki - now of Manchester City - having also played in the competition at 16, along with Youri Tielemans, Alen Halilovic and Celestine Babayaro.

However, one important caveat to note is that despite being born and raised in the UK and been with Arsenal’s academy since 2015, Dowman will not yet count as a locally-trained player, meaning he cannot be placed on the ‘B’ list, as he is too young to meet the criteria stating that players “born on or after 1 January 2004 since their 15th birthday must have been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years”, or “a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year”.

That means that Dowman would have to take a spot on Arsenal’s ‘A’ list in the Champions League, which has a maximum of 25 spots - eight of which are reserved for locally-trained players. The number of players that can be named on the ‘B’ list across the campaign is unlimited, though it has to be submitted by midnight the night before a game.

UEFA rules do however state that “players aged 16 may be submitted to List B if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption”, meaning Dowman would be eligible to move to ‘B’ when Arsenal finalise their squad again for the knockout stages, when they can register a maximum of three new players on their ‘A’ list, provided they advance that far in the competition.