‘The Boy’s A Bit Special’ Arsenal’s teenage foul magnet smashing records in dazzling senior breakthrough

Max Dowman was fouled nine times during one half of a youth international fixture earlier this season, seven of which were committed by the same Spanish full-back. By foul four or five, the defender in question was no longer trying to disguise his attempts at thwarting Dowman by illegal means.

The Arsenal youngster is, by FFT’s reckoning, the youngest of approximately 500 players over the past 31 years to be spotlighted in a ‘The Boy’s A Bit Special’ feature.

Dowman turns 16 on New Year’s Eve and should he appear in the Champions League before then, will become the youngest ever competitor in Europe’s premier club competition.

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Arsenal teenager Max Dowman is breaking all kinds of records

Max Dowman sitting on the bench for Arsenal during 2025-26 pre-season (Image credit: Getty Images)

What is ‘The Boy’s A Bit Special’?

FourFourTwo’s long-running ‘The Boy’s A Bit Special’ feature has been going since the magazine’s first issue, highlighting the best young players in the United Kingdom and abroad.

As of September 2025, we’ve given it a revamp. Our youth football expert Joe Donnohue will be profiling four teenagers each month, explaining why they’re, well, a bit special.

The fact he is reaching these milestones whilst representing a club with the resource and talent pool like Arsenal is the greatest endorsement of the teenager’s undeniable skill.

Dowman was playing Under-18s football at 13 and Under-19s football in official UEFA competition at 14. He made his Premier League debut at 15, winning the Gunners a spot-kick inside 30 minutes. ‘Max’ impact.

👶 Youngest players in UEFA Champions League history:16 years, 0 months, 18 days: 🇩🇪 Youssoufa Moukoko16 years, 2 months, 6 days: 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal16 years, 2 months, 25 days: 🇳🇬 Celestine Babayaro16 years, 3 months, 10 days: 🇫🇷 Rayan Cherki16 years, 4 months, 6 days: 🇭🇷… pic.twitter.com/FnTfm3t1APSeptember 3, 2025

He is confident, athletic and capable, a winning combination for any attacker. The 15-year-old is already so adept at winning fouls that it begs the question: How much will his game evolve with further exposure to first-team football?

Dowman is a duck-and-weave player, dodging challenges as best he can while making a bee-line for the byline. The second point is an important one to make because Dowman has not always been a right-winger, which is where he’s getting his minutes under Mikel Arteta. At younger age groups, the teenager has been more of a No.10, but his skillset is indisputably winger-y, cutting in off the right, putting his preferred left foot to good use.

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From an output perspective, Dowman has 20 goals and 10 assists in 25 outings for the Gunners’ U18s; he isn’t just an athlete, he’s a footballer.

What about his record for the Under-21s? Does it translate? In all honesty, no. He’s skipped the age group altogether and is regarded as a first-team player. Despite the fact development is not linear and there are many hurdles for Dowman still to straddle, we can quite confidently say the first-team is where he’s going to stay for the foreseeable.