Jack Wilshere picks 14-year-old Arsenal star who could beat Ethan Nwaneri's record

Arsenal Under-18s manager Jack Wilshere is keen to quickly bring 14-year-old Max Dowman into the first team amid an incredible rise.

Dowman joined the under-18 team in September, aged just 13 at the time, earlier this season and already looks like a superstar, particularly after one display.

The 14-year-old was used as a midfielder against Fulham Under-18s in a 5-2 victory, with Dowman assisting on four of the goals.

Under the tutelage of the former Arsenal Midfielder Wilshere, who is in charge of the club's academy, the 32-year-old is eager to see the prodigal star used in first-team training.

“There's always a concern when fielding such a young player in these games, but if you're good enough, you're old enough,” Wilshere said. club media.

“He may be more consistent, but he's only 14 and hasn't even started his GCSEs yet.

“We need to find a balance between letting him play and enjoying the game because of his age, but also trying to work on it as much as we can.

“Hopefully we can speed him up and when he moves into the first team he will be more prepared.”

Arsenal's academy is among the best in the world and the club already holds the record for the youngest player to play in an English top-flight match.

Ethan Nwaneri claimed the record when he faced Brentford in September 2022 at 15 years and 181 days old.

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Dowman is set to follow in his teenage teammate's footsteps and could break that record if Mikel Arteta it involves him in this entire season.

Nwaneri recently signed a new long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium, while Arsenal have several academy graduates in their first team.

Bukayo Saka is the most successful, becoming a key player under Arteta, while Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah come from the club's esteemed Hale End academy.

Speaking about his team's performance overall, Wilshere said: “I really enjoyed it. We had a mix of players ranging from under-14s to under-18s.”

“It's always intriguing to see how they play together, how they fight together, and today I felt like we witnessed that in abundance.

“It's comforting to know that if I field an under-14 player who isn't a regular in our training, I can trust him to understand our style of play and tactics.”