Arsenal’s summer recruit Cristhian Mosquera was shocked by the talent of his new teenage teammate Max Dowman and went so far as to compare the 15-year-old to Barcelona’s prodigious sensation Lamine Yamal.
Dowman is an exciting prospect for the Gunners, quickening the pulse of supporters during his limited cameo appearances at just 15. Yamal was the same age when he made his debut for Barcelona back in 2023 and has gone on to establish himself as one of the best players on the planet at any age.
The two teenage starlets are both left-footed right wingers and Mosquera, who played against Yamal four times during his spell at Valencia, couldn’t help but see the similarities.
“I don’t mean to compare, but his style and way of playing is like Lamine Yamal,” Mosquera told The Athletic. “His movements are Lamine-esque.”
Dowman had been a topic of conversation among Arsenal fans towards the end of last season during a spate of attacking injuries. The Year 11 student wasn’t legally allowed to be registered at that point of the campaign, but has impressed during his tentative introduction to senior football this season. For Mosquera, he got his first glimpse of Dowman on this summer’s preseason tour.
“I didn’t have him on my radar and when I got to Singapore, he was already training and playing,” the young defender noted. “When they told me he was 15, I couldn’t believe it. He really is an incredible player, and I think he’s going to be world class.”
Dowman isn’t the only Hale End academy graduate to catch Mosquera’s eye. “You see 17 and 18-year-olds like Myles [Lewis-Skelly] or Ethan (Nwaneri) and they play like they’re 30, like they’ve been playing football their whole lives. It’s incredible.”
Arsenal’s ‘Atmosphere of Winners’
Dowman and Mosquera are part of an Arsenal squad that is still youthful but has largely been playing together for several consecutive years. After three successive runner-up finishes in the Premier League, the hunger for a piece of silverware is palpable.
“We look at each other in the dressing room, we see what’s around us, and there’s an atmosphere of winners that we ourselves believe in,” Mosquera insisted.
“We know we’re capable, so why not believe in it? In recent years, things weren’t going the way people wanted, the way the players wanted, the way the club wanted. But this year, people are very happy, with that optimism that this is going to be the year.”
If Dowman can come anywhere close to matching Yamal’s current level of performance, Arsenal will have a strong chance of actually becoming winners.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘I Couldn’t Believe It’—Arsenal Star Makes Bold Max Dowman, Lamine Yamal Claim.