Arsenal record holder surpasses Ethan Nwaneri to create club history with Under-21 appearance

Arsenal star Max Dowman has made history by becoming the youngest player to appear for the club at under-21 level.

The current record was previously held by Richie Powling, a first-team star. Ethan Nwaneri the youngest in the Premier League 2 era.

3

But now Dowman, 14, has etched his name into the history books.

The youngster has been in good form for both the club's U18 and U19 teams.

In September it became the youngest player in UEFA Youth League history to score, and he did so at the age of 14 years, eight months and 19 days against Atalanta.

And now his impressive form has seen him rewarded with an appearance for the under-21 team in Sunday's Premier League 2 clash against Brighton.

He became the youngest player in history at under-21 level or equivalent when he came off the bench in the 1-1 draw against the Seagulls.

At 14 years and 336 days, Dowman surpassed Powling's previous record and also surpassed England youth international Nwaneri.

He was 15 years old when he first played for the under-21 team, against Blackburn Rovers in September 2022.

Incredibly, despite his historic appearance, Dowman is still too young to play in the FA Youth Cup.

Dowman has also recently enjoyed training with the first team, featuring goalkeepers Tommy Setford, Alexei Rojas and Lucas Nygaard.

Josh Robinson, Ayden Heaven and Zane Monlouis also joined the sessions led by the boss. Mikel Arteta.

3

Setford made his first team debut in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in October as Arsenal beat Preston North End 3-0.

While Jack Porter started in goal at the age of 16 in the third round against Bolton.

Arsenal's academy has produced many first-team stars over the years, not only recent graduates Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, but also players such as Liam Brady, Tony Adams, Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas and Bukayo Saka.

Other talents such as Alex Iwobi from Fulham, Bayern MunichNewcastle's Serge Gnabry and Joe Willock also emerged from the north London academy.

And Dowman hopes to become the next to break into the first team in the near future.

In addition to his appearance at under-21 level and four appearances in the UEFA Youth League, he has contributed two assists in the under-18 Premier League.