The kind of moment you already know will be looked back on, maybe in the title race, almost certainly in the burgeoning career of one of the brightest talents in world football. You don’t even have to say “remember the name”. Max Dowman is everywhere, just as he was in a 22-minute appearance that also made him the youngest scorer in Premier League history.
That such a talent is the name on a stat like that feels both fitting and also the least of what this was about.
Because this really isn’t about the numbers, astounding as Dowman’s mere 16 years and 73 days are, given his ability. It was about the feeling, that you could certainly sense around a rapturous – and relieved – Arsenal stadium after this late 2-0 win over Everton.
A beaming Mikel Arteta later admitted that he’d had “a gut feeling that it was a moment for him” from watching Dowman in training this week. And, just before the teenager went on, the manager’s very message reflected that feeling.
“Go and do your thing and win us the game.”
And how Arsenal needed him to do that.
The moment – and the release – was all the more special because of how testing and trying everything before it had been.
Just before Dowman offered the incisiveness that Arsenal had been lacking, there was a piece of play that had seemed to sum up everything that was wrong with them; that would have been pointed to had they only drawn 0-0.
David Raya had the ball at his feet on 87 minutes but couldn’t seem to even see a pass. The goalkeeper had to play it sideways, which Arsenal had been doing so much of over 87 deeply frustrating minutes. There was this straining to everything they were doing. They weren’t high enough or urgent enough. You could see the desire to get this done but that was actually a bad thing. It was resulting in hurried long shots that were dragged wide, or even impatient pushes where players were giving away needless free-kicks as they tried to do anything to just get play further up the pitch.
More than anything, Arsenal just couldn’t get beyond Everton.
Eberechi Eze was persistent, and offered two brilliant passes in behind, but something was always missing. Or, rather, there was always an Everton body right there.
Arteta admitted he was “pushing with every inch of my body to go to that goal, and somehow we score a goal”.
David Moyes had marshalled his side too well, and they were successfully reducing everything to physical duels. This was also despite James Tarkowski surprisingly missing, with the manager twice saying “nothing to add” on that afterwards. It left some intrigue, but his players were clearly up for a battle. This was a proper fight.
You wouldn’t usually describe such a situation as the opportune moment for a child to come in, but it was exactly that.
Almost immediately, Dowman was properly winning the ball, nicking it off Everton players, but also then going past them. Crucially, he was also cutting inside. Arsenal were actually making inroads for the first time since the game’s early stages.
Arteta admitted as much afterwards.
“It’s not only the goal that he scored. I think he changed the game. Every time he got the ball, he made things happen. It looked like we were more of a threat. To do that at that age, in this context, with this pressure, it is just not normal.”
Arsenal did need something out of the ordinary. And, on 87 minutes, Dowman offered the kind of cross that the team had been missing. It was a delivery that brought indecision to the Everton defence for the first time.
Jordan Pickford, who has recently been producing his own save of the season competition, came for the cross. It was his first mistake. Gabriel Martinelli was left to square for Viktor Gyokeres to just tap in.
Such an easy finish after such difficulty in getting there. It almost feel surreal.
What it meant in reality could be seen and heard in the celebrations, and even Arteta himself leaping with joy.
As bad as Arsenal have been, that can have a transformative effect.
“Then you turn around and you see the bench and those eyes just with that happiness, that joy that you’re almost not believing what has just happened,” Arteta said.
Not long afterwards, Dowman got to live his own dream.
With Arsenal really digging in – Piero Hincapie celebrating an abrasive late challenge that might have risked a penalty – Everton claimed a corner. Pickford this time hurried up to the other end… only to allow that opening.
With Arsenal desperately trying to get the ball away, it eventually landed with Dowman. Unlike his teammates, though, the teenager didn’t just look to get it away. Nor did he rush it and go for the shot, in the way many players would. He instead showed the composure and quality to get around Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and just keep going, dribbling from his own half to score in Everton’s box.
“Nothing seems to faze him,” Arteta said.
The anticipation was building.
“You could sense that he was – ooh – building up, building up,” Arteta smiled. “And there’s no goalie there, it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. It was incredible. It was so loud, so energetic.
“What a moment.”
As regards what next, there was already talk of a World Cup, and starting on Tuesday.
“Calma!” Arteta laughed.
That will be hard for anyone at Arsenal to do after this.
Dowman, however, looks like he’s going to keep going. This was where he really started, and it might yet prove defining for Arsenal in the title race.
