In the first 74 minutes of the victory against Everton, Arsenal did not show many signs of being able to find a decisive goal.
As pressure increased, the home team appeared deadlocked in attack and sometimes even had to rely on luck in defense. Familiar concerns in recent matches reappeared, that this could be a disastrous stumble.
Everton created more dangerous opportunities, even hitting the post. They took the lead in terms of expected goals (xG), while Arsenal, despite controlling the ball overwhelmingly and having up to 8 corner kicks, still had difficulty creating clear chances. Eberechi Eze was the most notable spearhead, but six of his seven shots came from outside the penalty area.
At that time, Manchester City was still closely following Arsenal in the Premier League top spot race. If they lose points, Arsenal could let their opponent shorten the gap to 4 points, in the context that Man City still has one match to play and the direct confrontation at the Etihad is still ahead.
In fact, the pressure was somewhat relieved when Man City drew with West Ham. However, as the match at the Emirates moved to the last 15 minutes, tension still enveloped the stands.
In that context, coach Mikel Arteta's decision to bring 16-year-old player Max Dowman onto the field caused no small surprise. This is only Dowman's third appearance in the Premier League, and Arsenal is still busy searching for a decisive goal.
That was a bold move by Arteta - who was once criticized for his caution and lack of risk. This decision is even more noteworthy when he accepted to withdraw Martin Zubimendi from the defensive midfielder position, in the context that Everton is always potentially counter-attacking.
Everything can be completely counterproductive. No one is sure that a teenage player can withstand the pressure from more than 60,000 spectators at the Emirates Stadium. But the reality is happening in an unexpected way.
First, Dowman's bold cross from the right wing - a situation that even Bukayo Saka or Noni Madueke were not sure could be done - pulled Jordan Pickford away from the goal, creating conditions for Viktor Gyokeres to open the score.
Not stopping there, Dowman continued to shine with a sprint from an Everton corner kick situation, leading the ball before scoring, thereby becoming the youngest player in Premier League history to score at the age of 16 and 73 days - deeply breaking the old record of 197 days.
Dowman deserves to be the focus of the historic match day, but Arteta's mark cannot be overshadowed. The two late goals of Dowman and Gyokeres - both stemming from personnel adjustments - continue to affirm the important role of reserve players in Arsenal's season.
After a strongly invested summer transfer window to increase the squad depth, Arsenal is reaping clear results. They lead the Premier League in the number of goals from reserve players (11) and the number of assists from this group (10), with a total of 21 assists - at least 7 times more than any other team.
Of course, not every goal is as decisive as Gyokeres' goal against Everton. Dowman's goal, although impressive, mainly helped relieve pressure when the opponent pushed up to find an equalizer.
In fact, many contributions from the bench are only for "beautifying" the score, such as Martin Odegaard's assist for Eze in the 4-1 victory over Spurs, or Gyokeres's double against Sunderland when Arsenal was already leading.
However, throughout the season, Arsenal also directly benefited from reserve options many times. From Gabriel Martinelli's equalizer against Man City, Mikel Merino's goal at St James' Park, to Gyokeres' decisive goal against Everton.
The points won against Everton helped Arsenal increase the total points earned from substitute players' contributions to 8. Although still inferior to Aston Villa (14 points), Brighton (10) and Bournemouth (9), it should be noted that Arsenal rarely falls into tight matches like these opponents.
