Safeguarding, GCSEs & famous mentor - Arsenals plans for teen star Dowman

Dowman was born on 31 December 2009

Max Dowman is old enough to play in the Premier League - but not to get changed with his team-mates.

The winger continued to show why he is one of the top-rated young players in the country when he made his Premier League debut at 15 years and 234 days on Saturday against Leeds United.

The appearance made him the second-youngest player to represent the club and the second-youngest to play in the Premier League - with team-mate Ethan Nwaneri holding both records.

His talent and his rise are no shock to anyone who has been around Arsenal for the past couple of years. He has been training with the first-team squad since he was 14.

Having a player with so much promise competing in senior football means Arsenal have put measures in place both for his career progression and his safeguarding.

These include where he gets changed, a strong focus on his education and also making sure that a boy in an adult team environment is well supported by his team-mates.

Manager Mikel Arteta and the club have been cautious about how they manage Dowmans progress.

Arteta said after his debut against Leeds that they have been gathering information about how he reacts to certain situations, whether that is being on the bench, training with the first team or not being named in the squad at all.

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One of the first big signs of his integration was Dowman being taken on the first teams warm-weather training camp to Dubai in January aged just 14.

During the second half of the campaign, there were calls from supporters for him to be used when Artetas squad was affected by injuries.

Setting records is not unusual for Dowman. He played for England at the European Under-17 Championship in May, becoming the competitions youngest scorer when he netted in a win over the Czech Republic.

The Arsenal squad have a security team around them when they travel to games and arrive at Emirates Stadium.

One of the security team is assigned to stay close to Dowman at all times and could be seen next to him alongside the pitch at Old Trafford when the teenager was in the travelling squad for the match against Manchester United but did not make the matchday 20.

Because of his age, Dowman has to get changed in a separate room to his team-mates before training sessions and on matchdays but is able to go into the changing room when team talks are done by Arteta and the coaching staff.

The players have separate rooms in hotels on away days, so travelling is not an issue.

Dowman is entering Year 11 in September, a key time for 15-year-olds as it is the end of the year at which they sit their GCSEs.

Players completing their education is extremely important to the club and Per Mertesacker, the former player and now academy manager, is the driving force behind this.

Dowman has built-in study time at the training ground to ensure his education does not suffer while he continues his development as a player.

Declan Rice, part of the leadership group at Arsenal and who has captained former club West Ham United and England, has been seen pictured next to Dowman when the team have been travelling.

Rice is one of the players selected as a mentor to the youngster because, having started his own journey at a young age, he is viewed as an ideal candidate to give advice.

Dowman could not make his Premier League debut until this season because of age restrictions but he is free to play for Arsenal in the Champions League.

There is no Uefa rule regarding age restriction,, external meaning a player aged 15 could play in the Champions League if he is registered to squad list A.

Fifa rules state he cannot sign a professional contract until the age of 17, though. Dowmans age group in the Premier League are known as scholars, and tend to earn less than £10,000 a year under their scholarship.

Whatever happens for the rest of the season, Dowman has taken a huge step in his development and Arsenal are making sure they support him every step of the way.