Arsenal had a difficult match at Mansfield in the 5th round of the FA Cup. Mikel Arteta's team was pressed from the beginning of the match, under a lot of pressure in the second half and could only stand firm in the final minutes. However, amidst the unconvincing performance of the whole team, Max Dowman stood out more than everyone else.
The player who made the strongest impression in Arsenal's victory was a 16-year-old talent. In the squad with many national team players and first-team stars, Dowman is still the most outstanding player.
Despite being highly appreciated before, the performance that Arteta called excellent by Dowman still caused surprise. This is the first time he has played for Arsenal's first team after 123 days, since becoming the youngest player to participate in the Champions League in the match against Slavia Prague. Previously, an injury had caused this young midfielder to be out of action for 4 months.
The match at Mansfield took place in the typical atmosphere of the FA Cup with enthusiastic cheers from home fans, and the pitch was not really ideal. In addition, Arsenal also had to play in a new tactical system when the injury forced Arteta to use a 3-defender formation for the first time in more than 4 years. Even, the Spanish strategist admitted that the team only had about 10 minutes of training with this system before the match.
However, Dowman still played confidently. He had the most shots and dribbles on Arsenal's side, despite playing in a very crowded central midfielder position.
This young player almost scored just minutes after the match started, when goalkeeper Liam Roberts passed the ball straight into his feet. After that, Dowman continued to create two consecutive chances to help Arsenal stabilize the game when Mansfield was putting pressure.
Arsenal's experienced players also often find ways to pass the ball to Dowman, showing confidence in this young talent.
His most notable moment came in the second half. Receiving the ball from Piero Hincapie in midfield in the encirclement of two Mansfield players, Dowman made a one-touch combination with Christian Norgaard to escape the pressing. After that, he passed two more defenders before launching a shot forcing goalkeeper Roberts to save.
His quality is incredible. The ball rebounds continuously and the opponent marks very closely, but the way he handles time, space and ball handling speed really shows his special talent" - Arteta expressed his impression of Dowman.
Not only outstanding in attack, Dowman also made a great contribution in defense. He was Arsenal's player who regained the ball the most in the match, and also led in the number of winning tackles and the number of times he recovered the ball in his own half.
When Christian Norgaard was the only defensive midfielder in the squad, Dowman showed surprising maturity when supporting well in the midfield area. This performance is even more impressive considering Dowman's age. Another 16-year-old player, Marli Salmon, made a mistake that led to Mansfield's equalizer, showing the often seen immaturity in young players.
Meanwhile, Dowman continued to set many notable milestones when he became the youngest player to start for Arsenal, the club's youngest player to play in the Premier League, Champions League and now the FA Cup.
The big question now is when will Dowman have the next chance. Arsenal is entering the decisive stage of the season with the Champions League, the Premier League title race, the Carabao Cup final and the next rounds of the FA Cup.
But after the performance at Mansfield, it seems Arteta can trust to use Dowman at any time. This young midfielder has proven that he is brave enough to shine in tense matches.
