Jack Wilshere has praised Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman, revealing that even his own father admitted the 16-year-old is better than the former Gunners midfielder. Dowman broke into the first team last season, making 13 appearances and scoring once.
Record-breaking season
Dowman set several records during his breakout campaign, becoming the youngest Premier League winner, Arsenal's youngest ever starter, the youngest ever Champions League player, and the youngest player to have started in the Premier League.
Wilshere, who also came through Arsenal's academy, said Dowman's talent was clear from an early age. "Max played for my 18s team when he was 13," Wilshere told BBC Sport. "I remember calling my dad because I played for the 18s when I was 14. I was like, 'was 13 too young?'
Wilshere's father's verdict
"In the first game we could clearly see that he was ready for it. And I remember calling my dad and saying, 'you need to come watch this kid'. My dad did, and my dad's very biased, as you could imagine. But even he said, 'he's better than you'."
Dowman has continued his development this season, scoring twice in a Carabao Cup win against Ipswich Town. It has been suggested that Arsenal are open to a loan move for the youngster.
Arteta's influence
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been key to Dowman's progression, and Wilshere credited him as a major influence on his own managerial career. "I got to see Mikel and how he coached and the influence he was having," Wilshere added. "I would ask him questions, why he's doing certain things, and I started to fall in love with it and how he started to prepare training sessions.
"I'd get an opportunity to practice that with the 18s in the afternoon and it was something I wasn't that good at, and I felt uncomfortable at times. I was influenced by Mikel, but then I had to learn how to teach. I had to learn how to get that across, how to plan a session and how to get the outcomes that you wanted.
"I played under some good coaches and was quite good at understanding what a coach wants, but I never dived into 'why is he asking me to do that?' Mikel really made that clear and I was lucky enough to have a relationship where I could say, 'well, why do you want that?' And he was open enough to share it with me."
