Arsenal handed huge contract boost as Max Dowman agrees scholarship terms with professional contract set to follow for Gunners wonderkid

Whisper it quietly, but this is already shaping up to become a season to remember for Arsenal, who have come agonisingly close on a number of major fronts in recent seasons. The Gunners have famously finished runners-up for three consecutive seasons and in 2022-23, they led the league for 248 days before a late collapse handed Manchester City the title, they also pushed City to the final day of the 2023-24 season. And last season they thumped Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the Champions League quarter-final, but were dumped out by Paris St-Germain in the semis. But with the current squad showing the required mettle to land serious silverware this season, the Gunners are also making plans for the future.  

Dowman will know he’s at a club with a first-class track record of promoting their academy products through the ranks and into the first-team. The Gunners’ Hale End academy has produced several first-team stars over the last decade, including key figures in the current squad. Foremost among them are England internationals Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe. Other notable graduates include striker Eddie Nketiah, who debuted in 2017, and winger Reiss Nelson. Younger prospects such as Ethan Nwaneri, the Premier League's youngest-ever player, and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also made recent first-team appearances. The academy has also fostered players who later moved on, including Joe Willock, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Alex Iwobi.

Arsenal secured a scholarship agreement with Dowman, plus a professional contract which can be signed when he turns 17, according to The Athletic. The 15-year-old midfielder, who comes from a family of Arsenal supporters, chose to stay with the club despite attracting interest from other top teams. He became the second-youngest player to represent Arsenal in the Premier League, making his debut against Leeds United in August this season at the tender age of 15 years and 235 days. He also featured for the senior team during their pre-season tour and has made a total of three first-team appearances this season. His scholarship will secure him for two years, and will be eligible to be offered a professional deal once he turns 16 on December 31.

Ahead of the League Cup clash with Port Vale earlier this season, Arteta said: "Preparing a very good understanding of his new situation and all the things that are different in his (Dowman's) life. We need to change his times, his education, his allocation, where he is with his family. His diet is different, his sleep pattern is different, the training load is different. The amount of information, pressure and exposure is different, so we have to manage a lot of factors. When you add a lot of minutes with different teams, we need to be cautious and very careful. That’s what we are trying to do to find that balance to keep Max as connected as possible to the first team, but we need the right mixture of minutes like the other day with the Under 21s."