Arsenal wonderkid smashes UEFA record at age of 14 hours before Atalanta clash

Max Dowman has made Arsenal history after the 14-year-old smashed the record for the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Youth League history.

The Gunners youngster started in his side’s European clash with Italian side Atalanta on Thursday evening. The game took place ahead of the two teams’ senior sides opening up their Champions League campaigns against each other later in the day.

The tournament sees under-19 sides coming up against each other, but Dowman was given the opportunity to impress at the age of just 14. And despite his side losing 4-1 to the Italians, on an individual level he made a name for himself.

Dowman is now the youngest player in the history of the competition to find the net at just 14 years, 8 months, and 19 days old. Former Borussia Dortmund star Youssoufa Moukoko was the previous record holder after finding the net at 14 years, 11 months and three days old back in 2019.

It was not the only record that Dowman broke during his latest outing. He also became the youngest ever player to appear for Arsenal in the competition - beating out Kaylen Hinds who played who was just 15 when he appeared in 2013.

Dowman has already made a major impression at London Colney, training with the Gunners first-team and the U18 side, while he was given the squad number 99 ahead of the current campaign.

Arsenal youth coach Jack Wilshere previously backed him for a bright future after his under-18s debut aged 13. The former midfielder said: “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 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.”

Dowman will be aiming to extend his positive form in the UEFA Youth League when they next take on French giants Paris Saint-Germain in just under a fortnight’s time.

Arsenal’s senior side being their Champions League campaign against Atalanta on Thursday night. They travel to Bergamo to take on Atalanta without injured midfielders Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino, but boosted by the return of Declan Rice, who was suspended for the win over Tottenham.