Max Dowman has been urged to move to Rangers to "toughen him up" as Arsenal consider a loan exit for the wonderkid.
The 16-year-old has enjoyed a rapid rise through the Gunners' ranks, having scored his first Premier League goal last season and netting his first senior brace in a Carabao Cup win over Ipswich last Tuesday. The start against the Tractor Boys was the midfielder's first start of the season, which he followed up with his first Premier League minutes of the season off the bench in defeat to Brighton.
Loan move on the cards
With opportunities proving limited, reports south of the border claim a loan move away from the Emirates could be on the cards. Dowman doesn't turn 17 until December, and only then will the Premier League champions be able to sanction a loan switch.
Former Rangers and England striker Mark Hateley reckons that a move to Ibrox in January for the teenage prodigy would benefit all parties, after Mikey Moore's successful loan from Tottenham last term.
Hateley's verdict
He told NetBet Casino: "If Max Dowman looks at what Mikey Moore did last year, he was transformed, and I think he sings praises for how Rangers looked after him and his parents. Max is in a similar situation. Danny Rohl found a way to play him and get the best out of Mikey Moore at Rangers. I think Derek McInnes would see the good habits he brings from Arsenal, and hopefully he would have a similar impact to what Mikey did from January onwards.
"That's what football is crying out for now – ballcarriers. Players like Paul Gascoignes, who carry the ball forward and release players ahead of them. Max is a similar sort of player, and the game time would do him a lot of good. Coming up to Scotland would toughen him up."
Arteta's stance
Speaking before last weekend's trip to the AMEX Stadium, boss Arteta left the door open for Dowman to leave as he admitted the youngster would be monitored ahead of the winter window.
The Spaniard said: "We will evaluate every six months where we are and what is the best thing for him to do and then make the right decision. It depends on a lot of factors. What he needs, and what the team needs as well, the availability we have in the squad, the minutes that he is playing and the qualities of those minutes. We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and to impact the team."
