Martin Odegaard’s late penalty earned Arsenal a 3-2 pre-season win over Newcastle in Singapore – but the headlines will belong to the Gunners’ 15-year-old wonderkid Max Dowman.
The talented teenager came on at the hour mark and stole the show with some impressive running, before winning the decisive spot-kick via a foul from Joelinton – who is nearly twice his age.
That was after Dowman nearly scored twice himself, cutting in from the right wing after replacing Bukayo Saka as Arsenal look to bring through another mercurial talent from their academy.
“It’s special,” said Mikel Arteta after the game. “What he’s done today against this team in the time that he had on the pitch, it’s certainly not common to witness from a 15-year-old. We are extremely lucky to have him.
“The environment that is around him – his family, the people at the club and around the academy as well are super helpful because they put him in this position so early in his journey.
“He’s having a real chance and a real presence when he plays for the first team.”
All the talking points beforehand regarding these two teams were the opposing weeks they had in terms of Swedish strikers, with Viktor Gyokeres – presented to the Singapore crowd before kick-off – joining Arsenal in a £63.5m deal, while Alexander Isak expressed his desire to leave Newcastle.
Arsenal presented new £63.5m striker Viktor Gyokeres to the Singapore crowd before kick-off
But it was another Swedish forward who made the first impact in this friendly as Anthony Elanga netted his first goal in black-and-white, finishing awkwardly from Sandro Tonali’s cross inside the first six minutes.
Arsenal controlled most of the ball but Newcastle continued to be a thorn on the counter-attack as David Raya was forced into good saves from Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.
But the Gunners eventually broke down the Magpies thanks to two assists from Kai Havertz, who might have felt he had a point to prove after Arsenal signed Gyokeres to play in the position he has occupied for much of his time at the club.
The German’s first assist saw him lay off for former Newcastle midfielder Mikel Merino to slot home from the edge of the box, and he then provided a cross which saw Alex Murphy inexplicably put into his own net despite being under no pressure from Saka at the far post.
Mikel Merino celebrates scoring for Arsenal vs Newcastle
Arsenal could have added to their lead as Saka was denied an overhead spectacular strike by Nick Pope, but it was Newcastle who levelled as Jacob Murphy – himself with an impression to make after the £55m signing of Elanga – found the inside of Raya’s near post from distance.
Newcastle nearly completed the turnaround as Will Osula – who started in Isak’s striker spot – headed a Jacob Murphy cross inches past the far post, while Dowman saw efforts saved by Pope and his replacement John Ruddy.
Dowman eventually made his impressive cameo count as he drive into the box and was felled by Joelinton. The referee pointed to the spot, allowing Odegaard to slot past Ruddy.
The Arsenal captain then told Dowman to take in the applause from the crowd. Following the likes of Saka, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly coming through, the Gunners have another impressive talent in the making.
Analysis: Dowman looks at home at this level already
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
The first sign that Dowman has the potential to become a star is that he was part of Mikel Arteta’s first round of substitutes in the second half – in a game where senior players featured for most of it.
Then came the fact that his team-mates immediately gave him the ball, with the trust already placed in him at a young age a very good sign. Then he turned Joelinton inside out to win a free-kick, which was the sign of things to come.
The best compliment Dowman can get is that he didn’t look 15 throughout. But that’s nothing new. David Raya said this week that Dowman and his same-age team-mate Marli Salmon have looked like they have been at this level for years.
What is new is how Dowman did not look out of place against a Premier League team. His fearlessness to not only win the penalty but go on two more slalom runs to force both clever saves from Newcastle’s two goalkeepers on the night.
Whether Dowman is good enough to reach the level is now surely without any more doubt. The only question that remains is: how many more outings against Premier League teams will he get this season?
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Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta says he’s super happy to sign new striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal’s pre-season schedule
July 23: Arsenal 1-0 AC Milan
July 27: Arsenal 3-2 Newcastle
July 31: Spurs – Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong, kick-off 12.30pm
August 6: Villarreal – Emirates Cup, Emirates Stadium, kick-off 6pm
August 9: Athletic Club – Emirates Cup, Emirates Stadium, kick-off 5pm
Newcastle’s pre-season schedule
July 12: Newcastle 4-0 Carlisle
July 19: Celtic 4-0 Newcastle
July 27: Arsenal 3-2 Newcastle
July 30: K-League Select XI – Suwon World Cup Stadium, kick-off 12pm
August 3:Tottenham – Seoul World Cup Stadium, kick-off 12pm
August 8:Espanyol – St James’ Park, kick-off 7.30pm
August 9: Atletico Madrid – St James’ Park, kick-off 4pm
