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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is eyeing the chance to break his own record by drafting 14-year-old sensation Max Dowman to training. The Gunners chief is the manager who handed the Premier League's youngest-ever player his start and he now has another talented teen. Arteta made history when he subbed on Ethan Nwaneri in a 3-0 win over Brentford in September 2022 at 15 years and 181 days old. Two seasons later, Dowman is already around the first-team picture as well and doesn't celebrate his 15th birthday until New Year's Eve. The 14-year-old midfielder trained alongside Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard ahead of Arsenal's Carabao Cup clash with Crystal Palace. Dowman joined fellow academy graduates Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly in being put through his paces before the quarter-final. The highly-rated youngster, who was promoted at London Colney last month, was also seen being briefed on the pitch by Arteta. Even if Dowman is not included in the matchday squad at the Emirates, which is live on talk SPORT, he will still become the Premier League's youngster player should he make any appearance before the end of the season. It would cap further history for the England starlet, who claimed the feat of Arsenal's youngest to play at Under-21 level earlier this month. Aged 14 years and 336 days, Dowman came off the bench in the 1-1 draw in a Premier League 2 clash with Brighton. In September, he became the youngest player in UEFA Youth League history to get on the score sheet - doing so at the age of 14 years, eight months and 19 days against Atalanta. Despite his form, Arsenal are unable to sign Dowman on scholarship terms for another 16 months. According to Mail Sport, several Premier League clubs have already contacted Dowman’s father to register their interest. Arsenal want to prove to the player there is a pathway to the first team having lost Chido Obi-Martin to Manchester United this summer. The report adds that Arteta is said to be open to the idea of having Dowman on the bench before the end of the current campaign. Norwich coach Jack Wilshere had been keen to fastrack Dowman's development during his tenure with Arsenal's Under-18 squad. After watching Dowman notch four assists in a 5-2 win over Fulham in March, ex-England star Wilshere heaped praise on the midfielder. "There's always a concern when fielding such a young player in these matches, but if you're good enough, you're old enough, " he said. "He can be more consistent, but he's only 14 and hasn't even started his GCSEs yet. We need to find a balance of letting him play and enjoy because of his age, but also trying to get as much work into him as we can. "Hopefully, we can fast-track him and when he goes over to the first team he'll be more ready. " talk SPORT will have live coverage of the game presented by Adrian Durham. Commentary will come from Sam Matterface and former Aston Villa captain Andy Towsend. To tune in to talk SPORT or talk SPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talk SPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM. talk SPORT. com will also keep you up to date with all the latest news and reaction too.   © 2024 talk SPORT Limited

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