Mikel Arteta backs Arsenal star to replace Bukayo Saka

Mikel Arteta backs Arsenal star to replace Bukayo Saka Max Dowman Ready for Bigger Arsenal Role as Mikel Arteta Signals Premier League Step Up Arsenal may not have planned to lean harder on Max Dowman this early, but football rarely waits for ideal timing. With Bukayo Saka facing up to eight weeks out because of a quad injury, the route into the first team has opened again for the 16-year-old. Mikel Arteta is not hiding from it either. He sees the talent, he sees the timing, and he clearly believes the next stage is there for the taking. Dowman is expected to start against Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup, and that matters. So does the bigger picture. Arsenal host Everton on Saturday, the same side Dowman scored against last season with that solo run and finish that made him the youngest Premier League scorer in history. Moments like that get attention. Sustaining it at senior level is the harder part. Arteta sets clear challenge for Dowman So far, Dowman has played only nine league minutes this season. That is a tiny sample and Arteta knows it. He said: “He does. “He needs more minutes to do that. It’s a lot to ask him to provide when he does not have a lot of minutes. It’s very difficult, probably unfair. “But the moment that he starts to have more minutes and games I think he’s going to be able to do that because historically that’s what he’s done. “The next step is obviously to another dimension and he’s more than capable of doing that.” Photo IMAGO That is the key line, another dimension. Arteta is saying the raw material is obvious. The issue is repetition, rhythm and exposure. Young players do not develop through occasional cameos alone. They need games, responsibility and the chance to fail without the sky falling in. Carabao Cup chance could shape Arsenal plans Dowman has already made his case in flashes. In his only senior start this season, he scored twice in the Carabao Cup win over Ipswich. During the international break he scored for England Under-19s, though he was then sent off against the United States. That is youth football in a nutshell, talent and rough edges travelling together. Arteta is trying to manage both. He said: “He needs to understand where he is at and where we are going to take him. “And that is clear. It will not be a straight line up. Hopefully yes, but normally it is not like this. “He needs to prepare for that but to have the spikes up and when the spikes are down, you better be ready because you never know the moment you are needed and there is no time to say, ‘no but I lack this’. “That goes for every player but he is in a good place, he is training really well. When he had to play with us or the Under-21s he was the same and the same with the national team. “We know the player we have and we need to give him the right chances and the right moments.” Premier League pathway now looks open There is no mystery here. Arsenal rate Dowman highly and Arteta accepts the player may already merit more action. “He’s a huge player for us, for our future, and probably he deserves more, so I accept that.” The next few weeks may force Arsenal to act on those words. If Dowman delivers, the conversation changes from promise to place.