Arsenal have made a real name for themselves in recent years as a club with a brilliant pathway from the academy to the first team.
Bukayo Saka is the biggest recent success story to date from the Arsenal academy, becoming a star for club and country after graduating from the Hale End setup.
More recently, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have burst onto the scene, the latter scoring on his England debut in March.
The next Arsenal youngster tipped for stardom is Max Dowman, who has been training with the first-team despite being just 15 years old.
Declan Rice has now spoken about Dowman, explaining what he needs to do if he is to fully break into the Arsenal senior setup.
Declan Rice says Max Dowman must ‘keep working and keep pushing’ at Arsenal
Rice has admitted that a lot of people have been asking him about Dowman, and he described the young talent as “unreal”.
At the same time, Rice stressed that, at just 15 years of age, there’s a long way to go for Dowman to develop into a first-team star.
The Arsenal midfielder said Dowman needs to retain his hunger for development and success and to keep working and keep pushing.
“I have had so many texts about Max recently,” Rice told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“At 15, there is such a long way to go. You can be the best 15-year-old in the country, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be at 18.
“So, you need to be hungry, keep working and keep pushing. I speak to Max a lot and he has got such a good family around him. He is unreal.”
Rice also revealed how he has taken all three Arsenal talents under his wing and has a good working relationship with them.
“I have a great relationship with all three of them, because Max gets to train with us quite a lot,” Rice added.
“I have kind of taken these three under my wing, because I have been in that position before and I had older players help me out.
“I get on well with all of them and they are really comfortable around me, which is all part of having a good relationship.”
Rio Ferdinand has also sung Dowman’s praises, hailing him a month ago after seeing him at Arsenal’s Dubai warm-weather training camp.
Why Max Dowman is yet to make his Arsenal debut
Dowman has been breaking records for Arsenal, making his U18s debut aged 13 and featuring for both the U19s and U21s at 14 years of age.
In addition, Dowman is the youngest ever UEFA Youth League scorer and is also the youngest ever player to feature for any club in the Premier League 2 since it was formed in 2012.
However, as good as it would be to see Dowman make his Arsenal bow, league rules mean Mikel Arteta isn’t allowed to hand him his Premier League debut.
To be able to participate in the Premier League at any point during this season, a player must have turned 15 before August 31, 2024, which was not the case with Dowman.
