Max Dowman became the youngest-ever Champions League player on Tuesday, but Mikel Arteta was primarily pleased with the teenager’s courage on the pitch.
Arsenal youngster Max Dowman became the youngest player in the history of the Champions League on Tuesday, beating Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko’s record by 75 days.
15-year-old Dowman was introduced by Mikel Arteta as a substitute away to Slavia Prague, and he played the final 18 minutes of the 3-0 win.
Reflecting on the historic appearance, Arteta was quick to highlight Dowman’s contributions to the game, not just to the record books.
“What he’s done on the pitch is that he comes in, the first ball he takes, he takes people on, he starts to dribble, and gets a foul,” Arteta pointed out.
“That’s personality, that’s courage and that you cannot teach that. You have it or you don’t, and it doesn’t matter what his passport says. You throw him in this context and he’s ready to adapt and have a good performance. So, I’m really happy with that.”
Dowman’s record is going to be tough to break, due to UEFA’s registration rules. A club can include unlimited players between the ages of 16 and 21, provided they’ve been with the relevant team for at least two years, but that’s not true for 15-year-olds.
If you want to use a 15-year-old in the Champions League, your only option is to use up a valuable senior squad spot to include them. To make matters worse, the player’s young age means they won’t yet be counted as homegrown (a status you can only achieve starting from age 18).
Each club only gets 17 non-homegrown senior squad spots, so you don’t want to waste them. On top of that, the senior squad list is submitted at the start of the season and can’t be changed until the following February.
A club would therefore have to decide at the start of the season that their 15-year-old is so good to be worth using up a non-homegrown senior squad spot. Arsenal did just that, but it’s unlikely to happen very often.