A 15-year-old boy played for Arsenal s first team, his ability is higher than that of his peers.

For a long time, Arsenal's Hel End Youth Training Academy has been a conveyor belt for cultivating talented players, and the latest genius to attract fans' attention is 15-year-old Max Dowman.

Doman has already made a sensation in the youth football world, arguably the most promising Helnder graduate since Bukayo Saka, with Premier League opponents and top European clubs well aware of this.

Because Dawman is under 17 years old and unable to sign a professional contract, Arsenal faces a difficult task: to pave the way for his development and prevent competitors from poaching. The disappointment caused by Aiden Haven and Cheetho Obie's recent transfer to Manchester United remains unwind, and the club also strongly hopes to avoid losing another potential star before Doman has a chance to enter the first team.

This sense of urgency is no longer just a guess. Daoman has grown up far beyond his peers, performing well in the U18 Premier League last season (15 goals and 5 assists in 15 games), and often plays opponents three to four years older than him in the English youth team.

This summer, he continued to rise quickly, taking part in Arsenal's pre-season tour and performing impressive performances in friendly matches against AC Milan and Newcastle United, in which he showed little signs of physical weakness and being overwhelmed by the intensity of the match.

Position

Doman mainly serves as an attacking midfielder or wing organizer, usually cutting from the right with his left foot that he is better at and performs well in almost every stage related to his character and style.

Advantage

Doman's ball control progress is impressive: he always avoids opponents' pressing with fast pace, finds space in the offensive third zone, and has an excellent vision, and can accurately pass the ball to his teammates. His first touch is very smart, and he is good at using various deceptive turn and fake moves to control the ball, making the defenders confused.

However, what makes Doman different from the typical precocious dribbling player is that his skills are already very mature. His elegant and smoothness in receiving, taking and maneuvering the space has reached an extremely high level.

More importantly, his movements are rhythmic - the coordination of one kick, quick turn, and smooth passes and reception - which makes people think of Arsenal captain Martin Odge, who is of the same age. Before transferring to Real Madrid, Odegao had accumulated rich experience in Norway's adult football league at the age of 15. By contrast, Doman seems to be better at physical fitness, and has a stronger ability to deal with physical confrontations and maintain balance in high-speed confrontations.

In fact, strength and physical control have become his key traits.

The senior defenders who played against him on the Summer Tour must have noticed his courage and resilience: he can effectively block opponents’ defense, protect the ball well, and quickly restore balance after physical contact. Although his physique is still growing, he is already difficult to be guarded.

From a technical perspective, Doman's passing vision is very outstanding. He performs accurately and powerfully in the offensive zone three, whether it is passing the ball to a full-back who is in the forward, or cooperating with two-passes in the penalty area, or trying to change direction and pass the ball directly. His left and right feet effectively end the game, and it takes very little extra time to transfer the ball to his left foot (his good at the foot), which also gives him an advantage when dribbling. Another prominent feature of Doman is his ability to predict. He often predicts the game situation before receiving the ball, interprets the defensive formation and adjusts his position accordingly. This allows him not only to gain advantages by speed and technology, but also to be one step faster than his opponent in consciousness. When he was in possession, he often teased the pressing defenders in a pretended way, and then changed over them at a dazzling speed.

This is most obvious in the Gunners' 3-2 defeat of Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Youth FA Cup in February. There are certainly aspects that need improvement for such a young player.

For example, he likes dribbling and sometimes continues to break forward when the pass is more reasonable, but his slightly cumbersome tendency is offset by his ability to constantly break through the opponent's defense.

In addition, Doman's pressing ability in the absence of the ball is not strong, and the defense needs to be improved, especially in the targeting of players without the ball and performing secondary pressure. However, these are common problems for players of his age, and these aspects may improve as he adapts to the requirements of adult football.

Future

Although Arsenal has highly praised Dowman for years, the progress of the past 18 months has transformed him from a talented teenager to a strong candidate to enter the first team early.

From the age of 12 to 14, he can easily dribble the ball past his peers, which makes him often compared to world-class talented players. In the adolescent stage, such dominance is not rare and is not a reliable indicator of future development. But Doman's strength has been enhanced, his running has been more efficient, and his tactics have become more mature, and his possibility of entering the first team has gradually emerged.

Although his career still has a long way to go, he has brought such advanced, smooth and instinctive things that it is reasonable for people to have high expectations for his future.

Arsenal has a rare treasure in his hands, and the next two years will be crucial for his stay in North London.