Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman missed Arsenal’s first training session since being crowned as Premier League champions due to his GCSE exams.
Dowman, 16, has only played five times in the league since making his debut last August, but he still played an important role in the triumph.
In March, with the Gunners being held by Everton at the Emirates, Dowman came off the bench and helped to set up Viktor Gyokeres’ 89th-minute strike, before he added a second deep into added time to become the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history.
Dowman, who began training with the first team at 14, was an unused substitute for Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Burnley on Monday, although he wasn’t seen with the squad at their celebrations on Tuesday night after Man City’s draw at Bournemouth confirmed the title was theirs.
That was perhaps due to his exams, with GCSEs running from May 4 to June 26 this year.
And on Thursday, as Arsenal’s players reconvened for the first time since their title triumph was confirmed, Dowman was not pictured with the squad as they prepare for their final league game at Crystal Palace on Sunday and the Champions League final against PSG next weekend.
Max Dowman, 16, missed Arsenal training on Thursday as a result of his GCSE exams
The wonderkid was an unused substitute against Burnley on Monday and has played five times this season
That was reportedly due to his preparations for his exams, while Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber and David Raya were also absent from the session.
Those who were involved were greeted by Arsenal legend Robert Pires, who was part of the previous team at the club to win the title in 2004.
Meanwhile, speaking in March after Dowman’s strike against Everton, Wayne Rooney, who was 16 years and 360 days old when he scored his first Premier League goal – making him the league’s youngest scorer at that time – highlighted the balancing act Dowman faced over the next few months.
‘What an opportunity for him to be around the squad,’ Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show. ‘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. (But) if it’s education first, I don’t think we’ll see much of him over the next few weeks.’
Rooney added: ‘He has got his GCSEs, and his education, I’m sure for him and his family, is important as well.
‘He won’t be in as much as he’d probably like, but then you’ve got many years ahead of you.’
Rooney also opened up further on what life may be like for Dowman as a young player who has shot into the spotlight.
Those who did attend training were greeted by Arsenal legend and Invincible Robert Pires
‘I was back out playing with my mates on the streets when I scored after the game,’ added Rooney, who was yet to sign a professional contract and on £75 a week when he netted that iconic goal against the Gunners in 2002.
‘Now we’re in (a) social media (era). People will be messaging, Instagram or Twitter, whatever he’s got. And you’ll be seeing it everywhere.
‘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 is not on you as much maybe these days.’
