Mikel Arteta sends warning to Arsenal starlet as serious concerns with £60m star revealed | OneFootball

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has sent a warning to youngster Max Dowman, while there are internal ‘concerns’ about Eberechi Eze.

The Gunners have made a perfect start to the 2026/27 season, having won all their games so far in all competitions.

Arteta will be hoping that this can continue when they face fellow Premier League side Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

The Arsenal boss will likely tinker with his side for this match, and Dowman is one player who is expected to get minutes.

However, Arteta has issued a warning to the talented youngster.

“Well, I wish we could have him here (at Sunderland), but we have a limitation with the numbers we have,” Arteta told reporters.

“Max will have his chance. He will have his minutes and he will have to earn them like anybody else.

“You know the talent that we have, the players that we have there, we need to help him and find a way to make sure he continues to develop.”

‘Serious concerns’ about Eberechi Eze

Eze is another Arsenal player who should feature against Ipswich Town, but a report from Football Insider claims the Gunners have ‘serious concerns’ about how the £60m signing has been performing.

Former Premier League scout Mick Brown has told the outlet why Arteta has been preferring other players over Eze this season.

“Eberechi Eze is starting to become quite a serious concern for Arsenal,” Brown told Football Insider.

“I don’t think it’s harsh to say we’re not seeing the same player there as we saw at Crystal Palace, but there are very clear reasons for that, and it’s not necessarily his fault.

“Arsenal have been playing him on the wing more often this season, and he’s never been a touchline winger, it’s not a position that allows him to maximise his talents.

“Plus, the way Arsenal play and set up isn’t best suited to his skillset either, there’s a lot of focus on just keeping the ball and it can be quite risk-averse.

“When he was at Palace, he was a final-third player really, his teammates would feed him the ball in attacking positions and he would give them these moments of magic.

“There wasn’t a focus on him tracking back defensively, making sure they kept posession or making space for his teammates, he was allowed to express himself on the ball.

“So now at Arsenal, we’re not seeing these moves he used to make at Palace on the ball, we don’t see him bounce things off his teammates and make those decisive moves.

“But he’s playing in a role that doesn’t suit him, in a style of play that doesn’t get the best out of him, and that’s why Arteta prefers other options.”