Wayne Rooney is not expecting Max Dowman to make much of a contribution to Arsenal’s bid to land the quadruple.
Dowman made a match-changing impact after coming off the bench in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Everton, supplying the cross from which Viktor Gyokeres opened the scoring in the 90th minute before netting himself deep into injury-time to become the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League.
The win, coupled with Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, saw the Gunners extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points, although they have played a game more.
Arsenal take on Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash tomorrow night with the tie delicately poised at 1-1 following last week’s game in Germany. They face City in the EFL Cup final on Sunday and Southampton in the last eight of the FA Cup.
It promises to be a thrilling end to the season for the North London club but Rooney is not sure how much of a role Dowman will play due to his academic commitments.
The 16-year-old is still at school and scheduled to take his GCSEs in June and the former England forward says they may take priority.
“He has got his GCSEs, and his education and I’m sure for him and his family that is important as well,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show.
“What an opportunity for him to be around the squad. He could be a Premier League winner when he’s still finishing school off.
“He’s got an aura and a belief about him and it was the same against Everton. If it’s education first, I don’t think we’ll see much of him over the next few weeks.”
Dowman will have more to cope with than I did – Rooney
Rooney is in a good position to evaluate Dowman having also burst on to the scene as a 16-year-old, scoring a brilliant winner for Everton against Arsenal in 2002.
“I was back out playing with my mates on the streets after the game,” he said.
“Now we’re in [the] social media [age]. People will be messaging, Instagram or Twitter, whatever he’s got. And you’ll be seeing it everywhere.
“So I don’t think he will have slept many hours [on Saturday night] because I’m sure he will have been up watching it.
“It’s different now, a different age when I was coming through. There was no social media at that time.
“So it was all about the newspapers and whether you liked it or not – front page and back page. I think the scrutiny’s not on you as much maybe these days.”
You have to enjoy the success – Rooney
Dowman’s fearlessness on the ball is reminiscent of a young Rooney and the 40-year-old is a big fan of the teenager’s approach.
“He seems, from the games I’ve watched, to not let that pressure affect him because he gets the ball, he holds on to it, he commits defenders, he goes to take them on, and so he definitely looks like he’s got a confidence about him,” Rooney said.
“Mikel Arteta, some of the senior players in the Arsenal squad, will not let him get ahead of himself. But I think you have to enjoy it as well.
“Sometimes people think that enjoying success is arrogant and I just think they do it in the [USA]. They enjoy it and they celebrate it.
“So when we’ve got a young lad like that coming through as a 16-year-old, he’s clearly got a lot of ability and you just hope he can go and fulfil that potential.
“Let him enjoy it and go and express himself.”
Dowman tops list of youngest goalscorers in Premier League history
| Name | Game | Age |
| 1. Max Dowman | ARSENAL v Everton | 16 years and 73 days |
| 2. James Vaughan | EVERTON v Crystal Palace | 16 years and 270 days |
| 3. James Milner | Sunderland v LEEDS | 16 years and 356 days |
| 4. Wayne Rooney | EVERTON v Arsenal | 16 years and 360 days |
| 5. Rio Ngumoha | Newcastle v LIVERPOOL | 16 years and 361 days |
