Max Dowman to be named in Arsenal squad vs Port Vale | OneFootball

Max Dowman is set to be in the Arsenal squad against Port Vale on Wednesday night, returning to the first team after his weekend minutes for the u21s.

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

John Cross reports for the Mirror that Mikel Arteta confirmed after his press conference on Tuesday that Max Dowman would be in the squad against Port Vale the following day.

The inclusion isn’t a great surprise, as Dowman had been involved in first-team training on Tuesday.

The Arsenal u21s were playing against Newport County on Tuesday night, so the club had to choose which squad to include the 15-year-old with. He couldn’t train with the first team and then also play for the u21 side, and it was notable that Arteta opted to keep the player at London Colney.

Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter

On top of that, Noni Madueke’s injury gives Arsenal both an increased need for Dowman as an alternative to Bukayo Saka on the right wing, and also an extra squad spot to include the teenager.

Arteta spoke about the need to balance all of Dowman’s responsibilities at this stage, saying: “We need to be cautious and that’s what we are trying to do in the best possible way to find that balance to keep Max as connected as possible with the first team because he’s undoubtedly a player that can help the first team.

“But that’s why we need the right mixture of minutes like he did the other day with the under-23s and with England, to have that exposure when he needs to play with us, he’s ready to do that.”

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

There was certainly a suspicion that the decision to drop Dowman back to the Arsenal u21s at the weekend was motivated by a desire to get him match sharp ahead of the first-team midweek fixture against Port Vale.

It worked pretty well, with Dowman coming through the u21 match unscathed after scoring a key equaliser in a comeback win. He should now be ready to have an impact if he’s selected on Wednesday night.