Mikel Arteta refuses to be drawn on future involvement of Max Dowman

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta refused to entertain speculation about future Max Dowman starts after the year 11 student became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history in the 2-0 victory over Everton.

Arteta gambled when a hunch led him to introduce the teenager – 16 years and 73 days old when he was introduced in the 74th minute of a goalless stalemate at the Emirates Stadium – but it paid off when Dowman first made Viktor Gyokeres’ 89th-minute breakthrough with a cross before immortalising himself in the seventh minute of added time.

Dowman was a few years away from even being born when James Vaughan, the previous record-holder, netted the final goal in Everton’s 2005 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park – where the opener was scored by none other than Arteta.

But asked if the schoolboy might have made an argument for starting, his grinning boss replied: “Let’s come down to earth today and enjoy the moment, because it was intense and it was worth it and we will see tomorrow.”

Jordan Pickford misread Dowman’s delivery in the build-up to Gyokeres’ goal, and was subsequently stranded after he was brought forward for a corner deep into stoppage-time.

Dowman broke from the edge of Arsenal’s 18-yard box to chase down the clearance before evading Everton’s remaining defenders, then sprinted up the pitch as the crowd rose in giddy anticipation of his inevitable low, empty-net finish.

“It was a phenomenal moment,” Arteta added.  “We talked before the game to play with that relentless desire to win every action and have the conviction that we are going to find a way to do it, and the effort, the quality, the commitment of the players was sensational, and then it ended up in a manner that probably none of us expected.

“It was one of the best moments that we lived together at the Emirates.”

Manchester City’s draw at West Ham ensured Arsenal moved nine points clear of their closest title challengers.

Dowman, now also Arsenal’s youngest-ever goalscorer in any men’s competition, shattered Vaughan’s record by 197 days.

The Essex teenager signed a pre-contract agreement with the Gunners in January, the precursor to a professional deal when he turns 17 on December 31st.

He is the second-youngest Premier League player in history, debuting at 15 years, 235 days old in August 2025. Only his Arsenal team-mate, Ethan Nwaneri, was younger – by 54 days – when Arteta introduced him in their victory at Brentford in September 2022.

The Gunners boss said he was guided by a “gut feeling” that day, the same phrase he used to explain Dowman’s introduction on Saturday.

Despite the two-decade gap, David Moyes was the man in charge of Everton for both Vaughan and Dowman’s milestone matches.

The now 62-year-old once handed Wayne Rooney – who remains the Premier League’s fourth-youngest goalscorer – his debut at 16, but Moyes did not want to draw comparisons between Dowman and the youngest man to ever score a goal for England.

Moyes said: “I wasn’t really looking at (Dowman), I was watching my own players.

“I don’t know enough about the boy, to be honest. I know plenty about Wayne. I could talk plenty about Wayne.

“But he looks like a talented boy, that’s for sure.”