Mikel Arteta hints at Arsenal squad integration for 'big talent' Max Dowman | OneFootball

Dowman could follow in the footsteps of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri at Arsenal in the near future

The midfielder, who is unable to make his Premier League debut this season due to competition rules, was also part of the Arsenal squad that travelled to Dubai in February for a training camp.

And asked if Dowman could be part of his squad planning for next season, Arteta said: “For the near future, yeah. Let’s see how this evolves but we certainly got a big, big talent there.

“But when I talk about Max, now he is involved in the squad. He trains with us a lot. Does that mean he will play in the Premier League many games? I don’t know, it depends how good he is and how impressive he is and how much he offers the team like Ethan [Nwaneri], like Myles [Lewis-Skelly], like any other player in the squad.

“I think he is in the right pathway and everybody in the academy has done an incredible job to consistently protect him, inspire him, challenge him, keep him always up and the levels that he could produce and he is doing well. He is doing the right steps and taking it slowly. He will dictate how fast we go.

“You need to understand his age and the way you talk and communicate with him but if you look from afar and you don’t know he is 15 and you see certain things that he does, you have to judge him on that, and you wouldn't think he was different to any other player.

“We will discuss at the end of the season and talk to Per [Mertesacker], the academy coaches as well, and him and his environment about how we are going to now create a development plan from next season like we do with any other player at the club, and take the right steps hopefully.”

Max Dowman often trains with the Arsenal first-team

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arteta has had great success blooding young players this season, with Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri starring in the first team.

The 18-year-olds had not made their debuts at the start of the campaign, but both have become valuable options and Arteta has revealed the club’s aim is to win trophies with their academy players.

“I love the trophies and I love working with young players, especially the ones that have been through our academy, our system and see them playing, because I think that is a dream for any football club,” he said.

“The first thing we do is, what do we have in the academy? Can we look at them? Can we promote them? Can we make them the lead players that we are going to need to win trophies? Do they have this mentality? And then go, because that’s always the challenge.

“An academy player sometimes has a different mindset, different perspective of what he needs to do when he arrives to the first team, because when you come from the academy to the first level, what do you want? Well, now I want to get set in the first team.

“Once you are in the dressing room, can I play a little bit? Once you play a little bit, can I be a starter now? Once you are a starter, can I have a new contract? Once you have that, can I be more consistent and be a regular starter?

I love the trophies and I love working with young players, especially the ones that have been through our academy, our system and see them playing, because I think that is a dream for any football club

Mikel Arteta

“Throughout that period of three, four, five years, are you thinking about winning matches and actually winning trophies? Or are you thinking about your own steps?

“That’s the very important mindset to go with the question that you mentioned before - academy players that want to win, not to raise themselves or develop themselves, to win football for this club.

“You are never going to get it right unless you bring academy players [through] - and win trophies. If you don’t do those two things at the same time, you are never going to win. If you win something: ‘Yeah but you don’t have academy players, you spent a lot of money’.

“If you have academy players and you don’t win: ‘You have to spend the money, because the academy players are not good enough’. So, both things together and we are in business.”